


Playing the Victim | Playing the Fool

by PaperAnn



Series: Playing Charades [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Gabriel, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Explicit Sexual Content, First Time, Implied Castiel/Dean Winchester, Knotting, M/M, Misunderstandings, Omega Sam Winchester, Porn With Plot, Possessive Gabriel, SPN A/B/O Big Bang, Sam Angst, Season/Series 05, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-09 08:36:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8884069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperAnn/pseuds/PaperAnn
Summary: It started off as a series of erotic fantasies, but it wasn’t like Sam could exactly control his subconscious, or anything.  Apparently, if the dreams were vivid enough - they could be read as prayers.  Sam had no idea his mind was actually reaching out to Gabriel until the angel appeared one unexpected night and whisked them away into an empty motel room.He gave Sam a series of ultimatums to toy with him, choices that loosened his morals, coupled with the option of silence to let his body speak for him.  Even when Sam could no longer justify it as a dream, and even when Gabriel’s inner alpha bloomed into something much more possessive, the visits continued and the stakes became higher.  Sam already knew with his addictive personality he would always give in, no matter the risk...because he was just that.  Addicted.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! Second Big Bang of the year! Here's some Sabriel - written for the [SPN ABO Big Bang](http://spnabobigbang.tumblr.com/) on tumblr <3 Shout out and congrats to the Mods for being helpful, awesome and running a successful brand-new Big Bang challenge! I couldn't be more excited to take part in the first year and hopefully many more to come :)
> 
>  **Notes:** This is the first installment in a series titled _"Playing Charades."_ This fic is a complete work by itself, but there will be more added to the story in a second piece down the road. So the ending...well, isn't the "absolute" ending. It's the beginning, before we head into canon-divergent territory and possible topics some readers may want to opt out of. We're keeping it simple in _"Playing the Victim | Playing the Fool"_ with lots of smutty A/B/O goodness mixed in with canon-compliant plot.
> 
> Massive thanks to my darling artist [reaperlove](https://reaperlove77.tumblr.com/), who not only created fantastic, perfect pieces for my fic BUT took on the task last minute as a pinch hitter. Couldn't be more grateful for her skills, hard work and new friendship <3
> 
> Another huge thank you to my wifey [whataboutthefish](http://whataboutthefish.tumblr.com/) for beta'ing, cheerleadering and moral-supporting me through thick and thin :)
> 
> SO MUCH LOVE to both these amazing women! Couldn't have done this without you!

****It was in Sam’s normal bag of tricks to be woken up by a far away shuffle.  By the sound of a lock being picked or the patter of footsteps.  He was on a hair-trigger to jump out of bed, grab the gun he had tucked away under his pillow, whip the muzzle towards the noise all while he flipped off the safety.

Except this time, he’d been in a dead sleep.  Even worse - in the middle of a wet dream.

And it hadn’t been a sound that had set him off.

It had been a whooshing sensation, and what was even more bizarre was that even though he knew he wasn’t in the same bed he was…still under the covers of another?

Sam instantly grappled for the weapon, startled awake by the confounding circumstance, and came up empty handed.  There was no firearm under his pillow, no knife on the nightstand, the only defense he had now were his fists.  He jerked into an upright position, scanning the room with a spike of adrenaline-laced fear, now covered in two _different_ kinds of sweat.

He didn’t have to search very far.  Right there at the foot of the bed stood the reason for both, all while wearing a very proud and slightly twisted grin of amusement.

Before Sam could even open his mouth to demand what the fuck was happening, why he was here (and where the hell ‘here' was, for that matter), the Trickster - _no_ , Sam had already come to terms with the fact he was an archangel for a while now - he lifted a finger to his own lips.  The move made Sam’s words die on his tongue.  

Yeah, Sam had a damn good reason to heed that warning.  
  
He was clearly weaponless, powerless, and it wasn’t like he had an angel blade or holy oil laying nearby.

Gabriel seemed to be taking his time as he strolled around the outside of the bed (Sam realized it mirrored the same motel he’d been in before, minus Dean) and the hunter held his ground.

When the angel actually took a seat, Sam could scent his glee and knew this meant nothing good.  He already wanted nothing to do with the next words from the alpha’s mouth.  Mostly because he had a panicky, vague inkling of what they’d entail.

“So, Sammy.  I turned off angel radio a long time ago, but some prayers still slip through the block.  Can’t shut ‘em all down, you know,” he mused in a casual voice, but his eyes were sharp as he pronounced, “But the last couple weeks…a few stood out.  Nothing like the usual ‘I pray to the Archangel Gabriel to save me from blah blah’ you can fill in the blanks, huh?”  He leaned in, smirk twisting even further on his face.  “You know, sometimes if you want something _bad_ enough, even when you’re sleeping, those prayers still go through, right?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Sam hated how his voice was gruff and snappishly defensive.

“No need to play coy.  I know I _just_ interrupted one of them.  Why do you think I made an appearance?  Kinda risky, huh?”  He reached out and pushed the wet hair matted to Sam’s brow away from his forehead, causing the man to flinch.  “Sure, I thought the first one was a fluke.  Sometimes you can’t be held accountable for your dreams.  But I happen to know,” he dipped forward, just close enough for his nose to brush Sam’s ear, “ _This_ many of ‘em?  Ain’t no fluke.”

Instead of shoving Gabriel away on instinct, instead of lashing out and punching him, Sam shivered and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.  He tried to block it out, repeating to himself, “This is a dream, this _has_ to be a dream, I’m-”

“No, you’re not.”  Gabriel made a deliberate point, as though providing living proof, by dragging his tongue along Sam’s neck.  He commented in a husky drawl, “You had me fooled.  Never would have pegged you for an omega.  Guess you sweat off the blockers tonight, kiddo.”

A small whimper rose from his chest when he demanded, “What do you want?!”

“To play a game.”

But Sam knew these games never ended well.  And he was in a terrible state, a terrible mind frame to even be _considering_ it.  Because, goddammit...  
  
Gabriel was right.  

He _had_ been dreaming of this asshole night after night and he knew why.  Still, Sam wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of admitting his idiotic, reckless attraction aloud.  No, he’d never tell him.  But the fact that he’d shown up while Sam was already achingly hard and soaked through his boxers?  There was nothing fair about this, and Gabriel knew it, taking full friggin advantage.

“Perfect,” he continued along with confidence as Sam remained silent.  The alpha trailed a finger up the length of the omega’s neck to grab his chin.  “It’s ultimatum time.  You can tell me to leave right now.  And I’ll honor it.  I’ll whisk you back to your shitty motel room, all hot and bothered and dripping wet.  Just like you’ve been, oh, practically every night for over a month.”  
  
Gabriel’s words were flippant, until he added the intentional low blow of, “All while you’re camped out _right_ next to your brother, scrambling to hide the mess when you cum...thinking of me.  You want that?  You just say the word.  _Or_ ,” he tilted his head to the side, “you can say _nothing_.  And I’ll use my tongue.”

Sam’s eyes widened, because with the snap of his fingers, Gabriel had made every article of clothing on Sam’s body vanish (along with the fucking sheets) and he was eyeing him hungrily.  The archangel’s scent reflected it, burning brightly in the hunter’s nose - it was all alpha.  Each bit of it overwhelming power, control and undeniable lust, as he raked his gaze over every inch of Sam’s body.

When their eyes met again, Gabriel reminded him, “It’s your word or your silence.  The choice is yours.”

Jesus, Sam wanted to scream out _this wasn’t fair_ , this was a damn setup, this was some kind of ploy when his guard was lowered but… Gabriel had given him the _easiest_ way out.  In two very different forms.

In the way of an order: to leave him.  Or rather send Sam back to where he’d been, still in this state (which, unfortunately, was becoming the norm), but at least he’d be safe.

Yet...now that he was laid bare and vulnerable, his traitorous body responded to not _only_ the thrill, but to the alluring dominance behind the alpha’s scent.  He was leaking fresh slick because Gabriel’s desire was filtering through Sam’s senses and he had to stifle a whine because…he’d never thought, never even imagined that the archangel would react to _him_ like _this_.  That the object of his fantasies would crave him in return - but the scent was undeniable.

Even if it _was_ a game, even if Gabriel was just toying with him - it wasn’t a one way street like Sam would have expected.

The lack of words stretched between them just long enough, and Gabriel’s eyes turned downright feral.

He knew that if Sam really, truly wanted him gone he would have put up a fight right away.  He would have snapped at him, shouted for Gabriel to get out, it would have been an instant knee-jerk reaction.  The only battle in this room had been a mental one, confusion and bafflement within the omega’s own head.  Apparently, Sam’s biology had already turned against him, already submitted, making the damn choice for him.

“Good,” Gabriel all but purred, the fire in his eyes fanning Sam’s own flame as he finally reached out and grabbed him by the hips.

It took the angel no effort at all to flip Sam’s tall and muscled frame around until the omega had a face full of pillow with Gabriel hauling his ass up in the air.  When he thought of the archangel “using his tongue” it was vague - nothing could prepare him for the electric, skilled touch of Gabriel lapping slick off his thighs and moving upward.  Hell, it ripped the air from his lungs-

Sam gasped to regain his composure even though he was floundering.  He had to remind himself he hadn’t told Gabriel to do this, so it wasn’t his fault.  Which was exactly what the alpha had been banking on.  But, _fuck_ , Sam was fighting to control his body, to hold himself in place, because Gabriel was on a mission to lick up every bit of wetness that was now freely gushing out of him.

Gabriel had flattened his tongue, eagerly taking delight as he moved closer to the source.  Sam didn’t know if he could contain himself for much longer - the son of a bitch was recreating some of the best dreams he’d had, and by the time his tongue was just _inches_ away…he’d changed his assault from fervent to languid.

Until now, Gabriel had kept their point of contact strictly oral, but now he grabbed two handfuls of Sam’s ass cheeks and widely spread them apart.  If Sam had felt exposed before, that was a shallow comparison.

He flushed red and buried his face into the pillow when he felt another surge of slick drip between his legs and coat his balls, but he outright refused to give Gabriel the benefit of begging.  This was a game of silence, right?

Although he had no idea how much longer that would last.

A laugh, accompanied by the sizzling scent of unbridled arousal, was something the omega could even make out though the pillow.  His body reacted without him - he shuddered and canted his hips backwards, cursing himself that he didn’t have more control.  Jesus, he was losing all his footing, he-

The only warning Gabriel gave him was, “If only you had any idea how fantastic you taste,” before he flicked his tongue over Sam’s puckered opening and forced a surprised moan from the omega’s lungs.

That seemed to encourage the angel, he wanted to hear more.  Not words, that wasn’t the point, but he need to hear the _sounds_ Sam was capable of.

Sam had a hunch Gabriel would have a talented mouth, but he couldn’t have prepared himself for the way the archangel ate him out.  

Not in a million years.

He used the hold on Sam’s ass to get complete unobstructed access to that pretty little hole, and when he swirled his tongue around the omega’s rim, Sam didn’t know which way was up.  Gabriel greedily swallowed the steady pulse of slick, practically milking it from Sam’s shaking body.  Then he narrowed his tongue.  Similar to how he’d initially flicked across Sam’s entrance; he began ghosting brief touches, brief plunges inside.

It was just a goddamn tease, barely there for a blink of an eye, but each time Sam could feel more and more of his tongue reaching further and deeper.  And, _God_ , did his body turn on him again.

But it wasn’t merely the rolling of his hips, begging to feel Gabriel’s tongue licking him open.  No, he could hear himself whimpering and groaning _through_ the fucking pillow.  His fists were clenched around it, he was stifling the urge to verbally demand more-

One second, there was a dark chuckle and the next Gabriel licked with a feather-soft pressure from his perineum and then plunged inside.  Sam yelped and tossed his head back as Gabriel began tongue-fucking him with enthusiasm.

The omega was keening, arching his back and rocking his hips to meet every pump of Gabriel’s tongue as the archangel licked him from the inside with zeal.  Holy hell, Sam had no idea how Gabriel could even be inside him so _deep_ , but it was overwhelming - his cock was throbbing and his body was on the brink of an orgasm just from this alpha’s tongue, alone.  He’d never thought it was possible-

Sam was literally seconds away from blowing his load when Gabriel pulled away and flipped him around on the mattress, so they were face to face.

And, God, was he a vision.

Gabriel was breathing hard, the omega’s slick glistening from his lips, all the way down his chin and neck, with pupils blown wide-open with lust.  His scent was manic with intensity too, all while he watched Sam struggle to gain composure with the acute loss physically hurting the omega - _dammit_!  He had been _so close_!  

Sam wanted to fucking scream, but - was this part of the plan?  Drive him to insanity and-

“Don’t you go and give me that bitchface _quite_ yet,” Gabriel tsk’ed, dipping down and making a show of sucking the precum from the head of Sam’s cock, earning a full-body shiver.  “I’ve got another one for you.”

“What?”  Sam’s voice was a mixture of disbelief, frustration and intrigue.

“Same rules apply.  But this time - option one is me shielding you and hiding you from the God Squad _or_ ,” he raked his nails down Sam’s inner thigh, “I’ll use my fingers.”

The omega was caught off guard and rattled.

So his true colors finally showed and _this_ was what it was about.

Sam had this sneaking suspicion...this had to be where Gabriel was trying to teach him a lesson.

What was this - some kind of greater good bullshit versus throwing personal skeletons in the closet, for the omega’s sake?

Gabriel must have been able to find him because of the prayers, because the joke was on him.  Castiel had branded their ribs so he didn’t need Gabriel’s ‘protection.’  Maybe he didn’t even want it.  

So instead, Sam played it up just to spite him.  He made it appear like this was a deep, personal struggle once again.  Maybe give the alpha the satisfaction he craved, thinking he was getting something out of Sam, luring him into the ‘wrong decision.’  But Sam wasn’t _technically_ doing anything wrong.

Okay, that was a lie.  

This whole thing was wrong, but...he couldn’t _help it_.  

At least this individual choice, this small modicum of an ultimatum wasn’t the end of the world.  He’d already been _there_ before.

He must have made it look like a convincing argument, because the look on Gabriel’s face wasn’t just the malicious grin of a former Trickster.  He looked fascinated and the scent of lust surrounding him had yet to wean.  If anything - it intensified.

Gabriel left Sam on his back, and moved as fast as lightning to settle between his thighs.  The omega gasped and cursed at the same time, because now?

Gabriel snapped his fingers and pinned Sam’s hands above his head so he couldn’t grab anything even if he wanted to.

“T-that wasn’t part of the deal!” he protested, a bit of fear creeping into the edges of his tone.

With a challenging eyebrow raised, Gabriel circled a single finger around his slightly-loosened rim and asked, “Are you changing your response?”

With a shaky exhale, Sam knew only one thing that could appease him.  Nothing.  So he bit his lip and closed his eyes.  He didn’t know if he could do this with Gabriel _right there_.  He knew the archangel was a showman, he couldn’t handle it if-

A gasp overwhelmed him when not one but two fingers twisted inside his wet hole.  He’d been completely caught off guard and didn’t know whether to pull away from the intrusion or rock against it.  Gabriel seemed to recognize Sam’s dilemma and used a coaxing touch, finding his prostate and stroking the bundle of nerves until the omega cried out again.

Very suddenly, there was a voice right next to his ear and Sam’s eyes flew open to see that Gabriel was scenting his neck and observing, “Jesus, you’re tight.”  He sucked Sam's earlobe into his mouth, moving his fingers once more to make Sam see stars.  “Love it when you sing like this, omega.”

Any other time, Sam would have spat out harsh words, orders to never call him that, to fuck off, but the way Gabriel was setting a rhythm with his fingers… Hell, he couldn’t even _think_.

Gabriel added a third one, and there was no doubt that a flicker of grace soothed a bit of the burn because everything felt fucking fantastic and the omega needed _more_.  Sam bucked his hips off the bed as Gabriel’s fingers continued plunging in and out of him, grazing his sweet spot over and over.

Now, though, Sam was scared.  Was Gabriel going to pull away again and leave him with blue balls?  Or another (even worse) ultimatum?  He was riding that brink, he was almost there again and he-

He fucking called it.

Although Gabriel didn’t pull the digits out, he stopped moving them.  Which left Sam fruitlessly grinding against his lax fingers - still seeking that friction, needing the release, and huffing in frustration.

But then Sam had his own set of conditions.

He whipped his head around to where Gabriel had been scenting his neck, practically head-butting him, and ordered, “Kiss me.”

The archangel looked visibly taken aback.  Like he hadn’t been expecting that _at all_ and then a Cheshire-grin appeared on his face when he asked, “What are the terms?”

“I haven’t asked for anything,” Sam’s voice was steady and held a decent amount of strength, given the fact that he was a total goddamn wreck.  “I’ve given you my silence.  In exchange for that, I want you to kiss me.”

Gabriel pulled his fingers from the omega’s body and crawled on top of him.  “You haven’t heard my final offer yet.”

“Fuck your final offer!”  Sam realized his wrists were free and he shoved at the archangel’s shoulders with no remorse.

“Exactly.”  A grin was tugging on Gabriel’s features.  “We’re going back to basics.  Since I, personally, didn’t think we’d get this far in the first place.”  He loomed over the omega, their lips just a breath apart.  “You can either tell me to leave,” their noses brushed, causing Sam’s heart to seize up in his chest, “or you can _tell me_ to fuck you.  But I need your consent.”

Sam paused and looked up to meet the golden eyes mere inches away.  He couldn’t help demanding, “This isn’t some warped way of trying to-”

“ _No_.”  Gabriel’s voice flashed righteous fury for the briefest of moments before he mused over Sam’s order and decided _screw it_.  “I’ll give you a second to think it over.”

Then he crashed their lips together.

The omega had almost been expecting it, given the impassioned change in Gabriel’s scent.  The pure animal-like way the archangel kissed him was exactly what he needed and more.  Sam grabbed fistfuls of his hair and hauled their bodies close, rutting up into Gabriel and finally (freaking _finally_ ) feeling the angel’s erection against his stomach.  He grappled for the clothing - it was itching against his naked and feverish skin, and all he wanted to do was rip it off and tear it apart.

Gabriel wouldn’t let him.  He grabbed hold of Sam’s wrists and pinned them back down to the bed, only leaving his lips to suck marks onto his flesh.  The omega moaned and bucked up off the mattress, needing more touch, needing more Gabriel.

His dreams did no justice to the power and energy surging around the archangel and Sam could feel himself getting tangled up in it.  And, holy hell, did he want more.  They nipped and sucked at each other’s lips, their tongues brushing with an explosive fuel and Sam began nodding before the words even came out.

“Yes…” he moaned into Gabriel’s mouth.  “Fuck me,” he ordered and bit his lower lip hard enough to bleed.

The archangel knocked Sam’s head to the side and sucked his collarbone red and blue while he ground their hips together.  “ _Finally_.”  When Gabriel pulled away, he grabbed Sam by the base of his throat and asked playfully, “When you dream about me how do I fuck you?”

Sam was more comfortable with the silence than the scrutiny, but for some reason Gabriel being just as desperate as him gave him the confidence he needed.

The words just kind of flowed, and he stated, “All kinds of ways.”  Then he suggested, “How about you start with knotting me from behind.”

Ever so slightly, Gabriel tightened his hold and dipped downward.  “You want me to knot you, my pretty omega slut?”

Knowing that since they’d gotten this far, Sam was damn sure Gabriel’s alpha was roaring at the thought he teased, “Unless you don’t want to stretch me full with your cum.”

“You’re the most _amazing_ surprise, Winchester,” the angel practically snarled and Sam was struck with a sense of vertigo, not knowing which way was up, for what felt like the hundredth time.

All at once, he knew he was presenting and the thick, huge head of Gabriel’s cock was pushing against his gushing hole.  But then, the second thing he felt was fright.

Before he could shout out, “Wait-!”

The archangel had slammed into him and their hips were flush.  Sam was reeling over the sheer size of Gabriel’s dick, stretching him wide open but - it didn’t hurt like he was afraid of?  _Holy hell_ , the sensation was unreal but he didn’t feel torn in two, like he-

Gabriel began to move, slowly rocking in and out of him, the glide of Sam’s slick making it easy and fucking perfect.  He could finally relax and relish the actual feel of their bodies moving together.   _God_ , was it good…

The archangel pitched forward and grabbed the hair at the nape of Sam’s neck, wrenching his head to the side.  “You begged for it.  Then you wanted me to _wait_?”  Gabriel began punctuating his thrusts with rougher slams in.  “Are you a cocktease, Sammy?”

“N-no,” he protested and attempted to hold back his whimpered, “I-I was...worried.”

“Worried?”  He echoed, swiveling his hips until Sam choked back his name.  That’s when Gabriel knew he’d found his sweet spot again, and continued to taunt the omega with, “Worried it wouldn’t be as good as your fantasies?  Believe me, I’m here to impress.  You have such little faith.”  He emphasized the words with staccato thrusts that only grew sharper.

“K-knew it would be good, just thought,” Sam chewed his bottom lip as Gabriel relentlessly pounded into his prostate, his knot tugging against Sam’s rim.  “Might hurt…”

There was a moment when it seemed to hit the archangel and his thrusts became slightly jarred.  Once the realization actually sunk in, he kicked it up a notch by grabbing Sam’s hips and driving into him with a renewed tenacity.  Because now he was downright _inspired_ by this revelation.

“Are you tellin’ me-”  His voice was alight with mischief and sheer glee when the light bulb went off.  “That _I’m_ the first one to get my dick wet in this fine ass?”

“Yes…yes!”  It started out as an admission, but then the next thing Sam knew was that Gabriel’s knot was swelling, and he was screaming out the archangel’s name while spurting out cum.

The lights in the room exploded into a downpour of sparks and the omega could feel the hot gush inside him.  As well as the last few pumps of Gabriel’s hips.  The alpha was moaning out unabashedly while his fingertips dug in, leaving bruises in the meat of Sam’s hips.  Gabriel’s pleasured groans were all Sam wanted and more than he‘d dreamed of.  The tug of the alpha’s knot tying them together against his sensitive rim a shocking sensation.  And grounding; because all this...was a _reality_.

What...the actual hell.  
  
When Gabriel pulled them both to the side of the bed, Sam could feel his arm begin to raise.  Before the archangel could even _think_ about snapping - his hunter reflexes kicked in, even in the afterglow.  

Sam forcefully jerked Gabriel’s offending arm down and redirected it to wrap around _him_ instead.  He growled out, “No.  You’re _not_ mojo’ing your way out.”  Then he huffed petulantly, “Not yet, anyways.”

“Oh?”  Gabriel asked, surprisingly allowing it and relaxing his limb.  “It’s not like we have to wait for my knot to go down.  I can just send you back.”

It looked like Sam was feeling overtly fearless while sated (after being cornered and harassed, maybe it was his turn to step up) and he figured _screw it_ when he decided, “I want the full experience.  Alpha scent, being tied, the works.  Don’t be an ass and take that away from me.  You can leave and snap me back.   _Later_.  I won the game.  I deserve a finishing prize.”

“Mm.  Touche.”  Gabriel sounded wary but accepted.  “You surprised me.”

“You shouldn’t be.  After all, you were in my head.  Or in my dreams.  Not like I had much of a choice.”  He mumbled out, yet secretly reveling in the thoroughly pleased state of his body.  He never imagined it would be like this, that he could _feel like this_ and...he didn’t want it to end.  “I’ve never been able to be an omega.  Not in any way, shape or form.   _Especially_ this way.  So I got something out of it.  Might as well take advantage of it while I can.”

Gabriel was strangely silent for the very first time, but Sam didn’t really care.  This was probably the only time he’d be able to enjoy this.  After all, being a Trickster was in Gabriel’s nature and lightning didn’t strike twice.  He’d made his point, Sam had been a nice play thing so the omega was trying to look at the bright side.  He hadn’t been sexually gratified this amazingly in a long…well, _ever_.  So that was a bright side, right?

He...still had his dreams.  Sam had come to terms with it.  Gabriel had dropped in to mock him.  And that was that.

Sam didn’t fall asleep no matter how contentedly exhausted, and how much he loved the scent of the alpha that was slowly lulling him there.  But soon, he could feel Gabriel’s knot go down and Sam knew it was just a matter of time before he was back in the other motel with Dean.

Before he could offer a snarky comment along the lines of: ‘hoped you enjoyed fucking with me,’ Gabriel started to pull out - doing something that surprised _and_ confused the hell out of him.    
  
But _right_ as his softened cock left, Gabriel replaced it - with two brushed fingers against Sam’s opening.  They pressed down on his rim and emitted a...strange heat.    
  
And there was an even hotter tingle of _grace_ that lingered there, even after Gabriel’s fingers were gone.    
  
It sent a shiver through his spine, and Sam immediately flipped over on the bed to face him when nothing trickled down between his thighs.

With a shark-like grin, Gabriel propped himself up on his elbow and watched the omega.  “Yer doing some deep thinking.”

“Get out of my head!” Sam snapped indignantly.  “I hate angels.”

“Why do I have the feeling you’re gonna pretend this was just a dream?”  The alpha wiggled his eyebrows.  “Write it off?  Throw it on the back burner like it never happened?”

“Oh God.”  Sam paled at the words.  “What did you do?”

“You know my interest in you, kiddo.”  Gabriel leaned in and brushed his lips against Sam’s throat.  “I like playing with you.  And I hate being ignored.  Chalk it up to a sensitive ego.  I left you with a parting gift.”

The omega’s jaw dropped open, because…he couldn’t have done what he thought he did, did he?

“Oh, _exactly_.  See, the moment you try to convince yourself what we did was a dream?  Or the moment I think you need a little _reminder_ about tonight?”  He reached forward and tucked a piece of hair behind Sam’s ear.  “My cum is gonna be dripping down between your thighs.  Until then, you‘ll keep it warm for me.”

Gabriel tilted his head to examine him further.  “Don’t look so glum.  All you gotta do is think of me and nothing… _embarrassing_ will happen.”  He winked lavishly.  “I thought you had fun.  Was I wrong?  Your omega and my alpha really seemed to hit it off.  I think we could have massive amounts of _more_ fun in the future.”

“I don’t know what I think about your idea of fun.”  Sam narrowed his eyes.  “Last time you had fun with me, you trapped me in a loop of Tuesdays.  Socked me in the balls on a gameshow.  Turned me into a car!   _Nothing_ about that was even remotely-”

The archangel cut him off by shoving him down to the mattress and hovering over him once more with a playful look in his eyes.  “I’m not gonna say I’m sorry.  You _needed_ those lessons.  But I will say after all those deliciously pornographic prayers and scenes I scoped out?  I’ve got a lot of prayers to answer and pleas to make good on for you.”  There was still a predatory look in his eyes, even though the flame was little more than kindling.  “Oh, Sammy.  The things I plan to do with you, little omega.”

“No,” Sam stopped him, his heart rising into his throat.  “I’m _not_ your plaything.  And last I knew, you wanted me to say yes to your brother.  Don’t fuck with me.”

“Maybe I want you all to _myself_.”  He kept glancing down to the omega’s lips and hummed, “You’re such a perfect, malleable, agreeable toy to my alpha.  I’ll have you saying a completely different kind of yes in no time.”

He was about to lash out.  To scream at Gabriel that he was nothing to be owned.  And he especially was not a kept omega to a fucking asshole of an archangel, even if it was one that _miraculously_ didn’t even consider wearing him as a meat suit.  How could he even think he was going to play sex toy to such a-

But then the words died on his tongue _right_ as he was going to unleash his rage.

Because he was sitting up, red in the face from fury-

Back in _his_ hotel room.  
  
Fully clothed and clean with his brother sleeping on top of the sheets next to him.

Fuck Gabriel.

Fuck him getting into his head, into the only place he had to himself, then reading his goddamn thoughts when he had a peace of mind inside the serenity of finally getting together with someone he’d _maybe_ been crushing on more than he wanted to admit-  
  
….and then _ruining it all_ for him.

Sam crashed back on the bed, frustration taking the place of pleasure and indulgence and now...he had to be on his toes.  

And the worst part?  Was that a small, itty bitty faraway speck of himself found the situation absolutely thrilling and _still_ impossibly arousing.  And he wanted to snuff out that part - but he _couldn’t_.  It was a piece of him.  The piece that had been dreaming about Gabriel in the first place.  The piece the alpha had easily taken advantage of and played like a fucking fiddle.

Goddamn asshole archangel.


	2. Chapter One

  
  
Both Sam’s body and his brain were too tapped out to stay awake and think about his encounter with Gabriel much longer after it happened.  Not to mention his mind was too stubborn to delve into it.  Into the implications, the whys, the damning hatred that was now tainting his stupid crush and where it had gotten him.  So once he was returned to his room, he fell back asleep instead.

It was surprisingly dreamless for the first time in a friggin long time, and it was Dean smacking him in the shoulder that eventually woke him up.

“Hey!  Think I caught a case.  Gotta call from Martin.  Remember that old hunter?”  Then his brother shot him an interested, curious expression when he slipped in, “You were sleeping like the dead, dude.  You should be diggin’ a knife in my gut, right now.  How’d you manage that?  We’ve got angels on our ass, the apocalypse in progress and-”

Sam stared groggily at him, like he had two heads.  “Are you…bitching at me because I got a decent night’s sleep?”

Dean stuck out his bottom lip in thought, then shrugged.  “Well, when you put it like that…Anyways, I already took a shower.  You go hop in, then we’re gonna hit it.  We’re two days out, so I don’t wanna waste any time.  Get your ass in gear, Samantha, we‘re going undercover!”

“Fuck off,” Sam groaned as he threw the sheets off.    
  
Yet, when he made the attempt to haul himself up from the bed, he nearly toppled backwards as his muscles angrily protested.  And some of those muscles...were _extremely_ specific.

His system was shocked.  Everything from the previous night came flooding back all at once.  Even though his eyes were wide, Sam dropped them to the ground and forced himself the rest of the way with a poker face and a barely-contained grunt of determination.  He _couldn’t_ let his brother catch even a sniff that something was off, because then he’d be like a goddamn dog with a bone.

Hell no, that was the _last_ thing he needed.  Dean would murder him in cold blood and then go after Gabriel with a homemade bomb of holy oil.

So instead, Sam clutched onto the handle of his duffle bag and took the whole thing with him instead of digging through for his toiletry pouch.  He wasn’t sure how many times he’d be able to bend over and stand back up effectively.  Fuck.  
  
But his brother _had_ said they were in a hurry, right?

So Sam took all his belongings and booked it into the motel bathroom.

Once he shut the door, he flicked the lock closed, even though they usually made it a habit of leaving doors open in case of ambushes.  Right now was a different story, though - Sam needed his privacy.  God, did he need it.

He pulled off his clothes, hoping by the slimmest chance that maybe, _just maybe_ , it had been a dream.  A waking, graphic, incredibly real (and pretty fantastic) wet dream.

He wasn’t so lucky.

As his clothes were peeled away, the picture became unmistakable, undeniable.  Underneath the layers uncovered a strewn-out canvas of bruises and hickeys.  There was nothing subtle about it - it was gaudy, brazen and so completely _Gabriel_.    
  
Jesus, now a tinge of dread tingled in the back of Sam’s mind about what would happen if he got hurt in a hunt.  Normally, a bullet graze or laceration was an easy fix with some whiskey, a needle and dental floss - but Dean (once again) would go postal if he put together the pieces.  
  
Because in that kind of event, a bumbling Sam wouldn’t have any answer besides the truth due to blood loss.

The omega groaned as he turned on the shower water and didn’t even wait for it to heat up.  He instantly stepped under the harsh spray, like a walk of shame, knowing he’d created this mess all by himself.  Well, it took two (obviously) but it had been of his own choosing.  
  
He _should_ have said no, but his body was begging for it.  In complete honesty, his carefully hidden and stowed away omega had been all but screaming for the archangel even longer than he’d recently entertained the fantasies.

This couldn’t happen again.

The facts were black and white.  He’d shown weakness last night.  Gabriel had exploited it.  And no matter how goddamn incredible the sex was…he _couldn’t_ give in.

Sam worked a lather into his hair as he began to think about damage control.  He needed a contingency plan, some kind of explanation in case Dean caught a flash of the teeth marks or the long, lines where nails had sunk into his flesh.  The omega blew out a shaky breath, remembering how mind-blowing it had been, how he wished the stakes weren’t so high…but he wasn’t an idiot.

Now that he thought about the hunt, the only time Dean said they were “two days out” was when he was begrudgingly admitting it was impossible to make the drive in one go, even if they took shifts.  Maybe tonight after they rolled into whatever town their halfway mark ended up as, he’d find a pretty girl and go home with her.  Just to give the illusion to Dean that, yes, he’d gotten laid so that’s where he’d gotten the marks.  He’d never know they were from-

“Nuh-uh-uh,” a voice chided from behind.  Before Sam could rinse the suds from his face to whip around, a pair of strong hands clamped down on his hips.  “Don’t even _think_ about it.”

The omega had never gotten the shampoo from his hair faster, and tore away from the grip to spin on his heels and see an equally naked Gabriel in the shower stall with him.  He kept his voice low as he snarled, “Get out of my head.  I’m trying to fix this before everything turns south because of you!”

“Because of me?”  He raised his eyebrow and fanned his hands out across Sam’s chest.  “I didn’t do anything you didn’t want.  And before you get any bright ideas on your clever little _problem-solving_ -” Gabriel seized the base of Sam’s neck and pronounced dangerously low, “ _I_ don’t share.”

“ _I_ don’t belong to you.”  Sam could say it confidently now, without being in the death-grip of arousal, currently fully awake and of a sound mind.  “I don’t belong to _anyone_.”

It appeared like the archangel took that as a challenge - his eyes darkening while he shoved Sam roughly against the wall and (although his expression was malicious) jovially stated, “That’s where you’re wrong, little omega.”

He hated that he was pinned and powerless, but more than anything...Sam berated that a part of him found it sexy.  Not to mention the night before, he never could quite manage to catch a glimpse of Gabriel in the midst of the chaos.  And seeing the man now without a shred of clothing before him?  His surprisingly toned body and the flex of muscle from where he’d restrained Sam was causing his dick to twitch with interest.

Dammit, he hated himself for it.  But…his fantasies turned reality had sparked something even deeper inside him (now knowing what it _was_ really like) the draw was undeniable no matter how much he justified how wrong it was.  Just when he thought he had a modicum of control over the situation…shit, he _had_ to fight this!

“No.”  It was more or less a grunt.  Followed by an awful, pathetic attempted, “One night doesn’t make me yours.”

“I thought I told you,” Gabriel smirked and tightened his grip, “I’ve just started having my fun with you.  Or did you _forget_?”

Sam’s moan was garbled as he fought desperately to muffle the noise, cum dripping between his thighs - the precise reminder Gabriel had promised him.    
  
And, hell, if _that_ didn’t get him slick all over again.

“Mm...”  The alpha took a deliberate, deep sniff in through his nose, exhaling a contented, dramatic sigh.  His own back was taking the brunt of the water so Sam’s scent was unobstructed.  “ _That’s_ what I thought.”

Then Gabriel leaned forward and ripped the air from his lungs with a near-violent kiss.  Sam had no choice but to surge into it, if only to gain back a sense of power (even though he wanted to taste his lips _just_ as badly) and gasped as Gabriel’s hands dove between his legs.  The archangel’s fingers slipped inside Sam’s wet hole, cum and slick mixed together and created and undeniable welcome as he fingered him.

All too soon, Gabriel pulled away and asked, “Are you telling me all of your dreams, the way you shouted my name last night, how hard you are right now - it’s all a figment of my imagination?  I know I'm creative, but you can't mojo-up perfection like you, Sammy.”    
  
The archangel didn’t even pause while he gleefully rubbed his slick and sex-coated fingers together.  “How you respond to me.  Like putty in my hands.  How bad you _want me_ , even though you might still be in denial...”

Sam was breathless and couldn’t even gather the words to respond which slapped a victorious smirk right on the alpha’s face.  “You belong to me.  And if you even start to question otherwise?  I’ll have to punish you.”

A shiver ran through the omega’s spine at the thought.  For the life of him he couldn’t understand why the fuck his inner animal was so goddamn obsessed and ready to bend over for Gabriel’s alpha.  He’d never felt like this, never experienced this, and what he loathed was being reduced to such basic instincts; responding like a typical, _inferior omega_.  The exact thing he’d been battling his entire life.

Something spurred Gabriel to raise an amused eyebrow, and Sam just _knew_ the fucker was in his mind again.  Goddammit, the last thing he needed was the archangel to know about his damn insecurities-  
  
It all prompted Gabriel to order, “Tell me you understand, kiddo,” then he purred out, “’cause jealous isn’t a good look for me _or_ anyone involved.  You wouldn’t want me doling out my own instant karma on those touching what isn’t theirs, right?”

“Take the marks away and I will.”  Sam steeled his resolve and looked him directly in the eyes.  “Trust me, you don’t want Dean finding out about this.”

After a lackluster snap of his fingers, Gabriel snipped, “Fine,” and when Sam looked down all were gone.

Besides the ones on his hipbones.    
  
He raised his eyes and glared at Gabriel, his mouth opened to protest, but the archangel cut him off.

“If Dean sees _those_?  I’m gonna question just what you boys get up to in that Impala.  Plus,” he trailed his thumb over one of the deeper bruises which caused Sam to shudder under his touch, “I already know you happen to like wearing my mark.  Your turn to hold up your end of the deal, little omega.”

Shit, Gabriel really _was_ in his head because he’d called him out on his designation.  He wanted to get under Sam’s skin, which already came so easily to the archangel, and he was powerless to stop it.  Although, Sam’s eyes were distracted by the way Gabriel was still caressing him, the throbbing sensation a tender reminder of last night, he managed to mutter out, “I understand.”

Gabriel noticed just where his focus lay and wanted to hold it - kick it up a notch - so he moved his hand closer to Sam’s now erect cock.  “You understand…what exactly?”

“I’ll be…yours.”  He spat out the words just because he knew Gabriel wouldn’t leave until he did.    
  
But Sam made sure he phrased it _very_ specially (not to mention quickly, so Gabriel wouldn’t read into it) that he _would be_ his, not that he _was_ his.  That's when the archangel wrapped his fist around Sam’s dick, the topic of discussion so far gone, it wasn't funny.  Hell, he was barely coherent-

With a few firm jerks coupled with Sam's stolen, choked breaths - Gabriel stole one more kiss and whispered, “Good omega,” before he disappeared completely.

Sam had to brace himself against the bathroom walls to keep his knees from buckling and crashing to the tub floor.  He hissed out a low curse because this was the last thing he needed.  He had to turn the shower from comfortable to ice-cold as a last ditch effort.

If that wasn’t enough, Dean was already rushing him.  Now in addition to his hard-on, he also needed to scrub the mess of slick and cum away from between his legs.  This wasn’t good.  How did he end up being the fixation of their most pain in the ass enemy?

And why was Sam more enthralled by it than put off?  Because…he _couldn’t_ refute how addicted to the game he was already.    
  
_Especially_ , now that Gabriel had basically made the promise they were only getting started…  

Something was wrong with him.  So fucking wrong.

\----------------------

It was absolutely no surprise when Dean chose a hotel with an attached bar.  He parked in an isolated spot as close to their room as they could get without risking the Impala getting banged up by neighboring car doors and snagged the keys.  They didn’t bother unloading into the joint, simply stashing a few weapons in the usual within-reach areas, in case of an attack.  After all, they were here to grab a couple hours before they continued their drive in the morning.

But it looked like Dean was about to hightail it to the adjoining bar and grab a couple beers, and fast.

He looked almost impressed when Sam decided to join him and followed his brother without a word of protest _or_ bitching into the bar.

“Huh,” he chuckled to the omega, “Looks like a decent sleep got that stick outta your ass.”  Dean patted his back as they grabbed a high-top table close to the bar.

Sam didn’t want to comment on the irony of it all.

He just good-naturedly rolled his eyes and commented as they hopped up to their chairs, “Jerk.”

Dean didn’t bother to return his normal jab, because he was too busy flagging down the waitress to order a round of shots plus two beers.  He had no idea how badly Sam needed it.  But he may have been given a clue soon enough.  The second the small glasses of whiskey were set down, they were tossed back and Sam was the one who took the initiative to order another pair.

“Damn.”  Dean was wearing a proud, wide grin and he took a pull from his bottle.  “You might _actually_ be fun tonight.”

“I’m fun every night,” he quipped right back.  “Anyway, tell me about Martin.”

“Well,” Dean leaned forward on the table so their conversation could be a bit more private and they didn‘t look like lunatics.  Even though that was par for the course.  “Obviously, calls were monitored - psych ward, and all.  So what I got from him was pretty damn vague.  But I looked into it and I guess people are going bottoms up by their own hands.”

“Suicides?  In a psych ward?”  Sam lifted an eyebrow.  “And why does that sound like our thing?  Mentally unstable people are the highest risk for taking their own lives, Dean.”

“Like I said, Martin couldn’t spell it out.  Which is why we’re headed in and he can tell us what’s going down.”  Dean snagged the incoming glass and flirtatiously winked at the waitress before drinking it.  He made an offended face at the glass in his palm, but drank the remains with a pained post-expression and a cough.  After all, Sam had just ordered a fucking _double_ , and it left Dean coughing as he finished the story with, “Even if he’s a little coo-coo these days, he was _still_ a hunter.  He knows the game and he’s gotta have some information to know this _is_ a hunt and not some wacko patients offing themselves.  You never stop being a hunter, always got the instinct.”

With a hum and a nod, Sam agreed.  “Yeah, he must have seen something.  Heard something.  And he’s helped us out before, we owe him.  Won’t hurt to check it out.”

“Exactly.”  Dean leaned back in his chair with a wide grin.  “God knows we need a little liquor tonight before we go mingle with the crazies.”

“You need liquor every night,” Sam pointed out, then also realized, “You are so tactless, it's painful.”

“Wha-?  What are you talking about?”  Dean recoiled back around and glared.

Sam took a sip from his beer and huffed, “That waitress.  It’s like you want to _eat_ her.”

“No way!  And that’s no way to romance a lady.  I’m not friggin vamp.”  He sputtered indignantly.  “If I wanted to romance her, trust me, I’d romance her.”

“Your game’s been slacking these days, you know?”  There was the beginnings of a grin on Sam’s face as he pointed it out to the alpha.  “What happened to the suave brother I used to have?  Now you’re just… _gawky_.  And desperately awkward.”

“Shut your face.”  He dramatically pointed a finger and challenged, “Watch this shit.  And _learn_ , young grasshopper.”

He hopped up from the stool and casually approached her from where she was chatting with another waitress by the bar.  It was a slow night so it didn’t look like anyone needed her direct assistance.  Sam laughed to himself because it wasn’t a lie when he’d told his brother he was losing his touch.

Most of the time, he thought Dean was playing it up just to keep the image of his masculinity alive.  But Sam had other ideas.

“It’s ‘cause of Cassie.”

A voice right next to him popped up out of friggin _nowhere_ and Sam jumped, nearly knocking the beer from his hand and sending it spilling all over.  It was sheer _luck_ that saved him from a fizzy mess cascading over the table from his jerky shock.

“Thinks he’s got something to prove.  Poor macho alpha.  It’s sad, really.”

Sam whipped to the side where Gabriel had materialized on the barstool next to him.  “What the fuck are you doing here?  Babysitting me?  What if Dean-”

“Dean, Dean Dean.  Always about the big bro.  Don’t worry, he can’t see me.  We’re in a little bubble I constructed.  Just created an image of you who waltzed off to the restroom, Sasquatch.”  He finally turned to face the omega with a smirk.  “Are you content to watch your brother seduce an airhead who he’ll probably take back to the room tonight?  Leave you high and dry?  Is voyeurism one of your kinks?”  He leaned his elbow on the table and watched Sam with an intensity that made him squirm.  “I can make that happen.  If it _is_ , you know.”

Sam barely spared him a glance, even the close proximity was making him warm and he couldn't let whatever this was, or anything for that matter, happen in a damn  _bar_.  “Fuck off.”

“Is that a no?  I can never tell with you.”  He ducked forward, close enough to brush his lips against Sam’s ear, “Although I do love when you play hard to get.  It makes the victory that much sweeter.”

“Why are you here.”  Sam repeated as evenly as he could, refusing to let his voice shake.  He wouldn’t give Gabriel that benefit.  “It’s not going to work like that.  You seducing me.  I'm not gonna give in.”

“Oh, Sammy!”  Gabriel snapped up some kind of fruity drink, complete with umbrella.  “You’re lucky you’re cute.  In case your brain’s out of commission today, you were the one who seduced me.  I was content halfway across the world, until your voice sounded out in my head.  And it sure as hell _didn’t_ tiptoe.  Then you moaning my name when you finger-fucked yourself after I left you in the shower this morning?  Mm, _that_ was delicious.”

The omega bit his lip before he decided to chug the rest of the beer.  Because...he couldn’t deny that.  He had no idea the archangel would ever find out, he thought he was gone - at least for the time being, he couldn’t be held accountable and now _this_ was happening and-

Gabriel angel-mojo’d the hunter’s drink full once more, and went as far as to wrap a loose handful of Sam’s hair into his grasp as he announced, “You know I’m right.  Doesn’t matter if I've gotta force you to say it out loud again or not.  You want me.  And hate that you want me.”

Then, he tighten his fist enough that he could man-handled the omega, wrenched Sam’s head to the side and kissed him.  
  
Hard.

It caught Sam off guard and even though he knew they were within the alpha’s little force field the spike of adrenaline being smack-dab in the middle of a bar, completely _surrounded_ by people, rushed through him.  Although his hands flew up initially to shove Gabriel away, the moment the man’s tongue dove inside his mouth...they ended up clutching the fabric of his shirt instead.  Holding him there.  Even pulling him _closer_.

He moaned into the touch, into the intensity of the moment - because, for whatever reason, Gabriel now always gave him his unhindered, unbridled alpha scent.  Sam had never experienced it during the hunts for the Trickster, during their time in TV Land.  He’d always been a mystery and his scent had been just as mysteriously absent.    
  
But once this stupid charade had started, the archangel flaunted it proudly (yet without posturing) and the omega was fucking _obsessed_.  A hungry part of him wanted to bury his face in Gabriel’s neck, plaster his lips against the alpha’s throat, and breathe in as much as he could fill his lungs with...

It wasn’t fair, he _couldn’t get enough_ and it reeled him in.

All too soon, just when Sam didn’t care anymore and returned everything with passion...Gabriel pulled away.  
  
With that Trickster grin, he announced, “Mm, fake you came back to the table.  Deano’s looking for you.”

And he vanished.

Fucking drink and all.

Sam knew he was flushed and prayed the blockers hid the rapid arousal building in his body.  He instantly ran a hand through his hair, hoping Gabriel hadn’t utterly wrecked it, adjusted his junk and shifted awkwardly in his seat.  Because Dean _was_ approaching the table and the omega was still trying to collect what was left of his fucking dignity and hide his tented erection.

When Dean plopped himself down, he asked with caution and concern, “Dude, you all right?” but then, thoroughly pleased with _himself_ , flipped out a napkin.  “Got her number, bro.  Think we may have to get another room for you tonight, if you catch my drift.”  Luckily, Dean’s conquests always came first and he was momentarily distracted.

“Yeah, fine.  Good for you.”  Sam’s words were choppy and he went for his beer again, trying not to tremble.

With a tilt of his head, Dean tried to get a read on his brother because he was confused as hell.  “Seriously, you okay?  Did you puke or something?”

“Or something.  Sorry.  I just-” _Shit_ , he couldn’t come up with a good lie.  “Not feeling too great.  Maybe it’s a good idea to get another room.”  He tried to change the direction of the conversation by harassing Dean.  “Surprised it actually worked, I guess you aren’t losing your touch after all.”

“Told ya, bitch.”  Dean clapped his hand over the prized napkin.  “You think you’re good enough for another shot?”

Sam could hardly contain the intensity of his, “Yes,” once his brother finished the question.  
  
It wasn’t a matter of being ‘good enough’ for another shot, fuck, he _needed_ one.

Although Dean was reluctant, he called over his shoulder, “Jen!  Think you can grab my brother and I another round?”

She smiled seductively, batting her lashes without a hint of modesty, and confirmed, “Of course, Dean.  Be right over!”

Thank God Dean was at least making friendly with the waitress, rather than some other random patron.  Because Sam could use the quick service and liquor.  Much, _much_ more liquor.

\-----------------------

They stayed at the bar until close, since that’s how long “Jen’s” shift was.  Then it was the short walk, which happened to be length of the motel, for them to get back.  Sam handled booking the second room by himself.  The woman had had been rather forward (okay, that was an understatement, _aggressive_ was a better word) and the omega barely had time to grab his shit before she basically _launched_ herself on Dean.

That was uncomfortable.  Sam didn’t even get the chance to make a joke about Dean being a bottom before she was ripping his damn clothes off, and it was the perfect opening to joke about his sexuality.  Nope, “Jen” was a savage and ruined a perfectly good punchline.  
  
From the moment Sam moved his things (no matter how drunk he was) to his single room, he was constantly on guard for an attack.  This was the ideal circumstance for Gabriel to come at him and he was waiting.  Prepared.

He wouldn’t be caught off guard again: he fucking refused.

Now Sam was on his own, twitching and jumping at the smallest, minuscule little sounds - like a goddamn tweaking addict because he was hyper-aware of _everything_.  
  
The constant need to be vigilant wore on him after a while, so he’d turned to sitting up and watching TV until four in the morning.

And Gabriel _still_ hadn’t shown.

By that point…Sam was downright annoyed and decently frustrated.  In _all_ senses of the word.

They needed to be up in a couple hours and he’d heard the banging going on in the other room (note to self, _never again_ book an adjoined room when Dean was trying to prove he was _still_ straight as an arrow) so Sam’s suffering had been for fucking  _nothing_.

Why the hell hadn’t the alpha shown up?  Why had he harassed Sam, gotten him all riled up, pretty much ready to drop ‘em and bend over...and then _ignored him_?    
  
Was this some part of his game?    
  
It wasn’t like Sam was pouting, after all, there was the very real alternative that Gabriel could have popped in and made his life hell.  He was all about teasing and minor-torture (which was a step-up from major-torture, he supposed), Sam wouldn’t have gotten any sleep but…at least he wouldn’t have been this sexually frustrated.

Fucking archangel.

The liquor was finally pulling him towards the much-needed sleep, so he turned off the TV and let his head rest on the pillow.  For a while, he fought to keep his eyes open, looking for a shadow approach him, listening for feet.  Eventually, his eyelids just grew too heavy and his body sank bonelessly into the mattress, booze the eventual welcome-wagon to invite him into unconsciousness.

Gabriel never showed.

\------------------------

The engine of the Impala was comforting enough as the pair made their way to Ketchum, Oklahoma.  But something was heavily weighing on Sam’s mind about this hunt in particular.  He didn’t know if Dean even thought about it, because once the word ‘monster’ was mentioned and something unrelated to the end of the world - he jumped on it.  He became solely focused on that hunt, and concept alone.

It wasn’t until they were a full cassette tape into their drive that Sam stopped Dean’s motion to change it over, and his brother raised an eyebrow.

“Dean.  You realize this is a Psychiatric Hospital, right?” he asked slowly and watched the man retract his arm, returning it to the steering wheel  
  
While it was an obvious sign he was listening, he had not caught Sam’s drift.  Yet.

“Yeah, dude.  And a lot of people think we’re already batshit crazy.  We’re not gonna have any trouble landing a bunk in there.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”  Sam blew through his lips and tried to explain without bluntly having to spell it out.  “We already talked about how we’ll find weapons on the inside.  We’ll probably be able to take down whatever’s lurking in the shadows, but that’s not it.  We can’t _bring in anything_ , Dean.  Which means…”

“Oh, shit.”  He glanced over to Sam with his eyes wide, “I didn’t even _think_ about your suppressants and blockers.”

“Yeah.”  There was no humor in the rueful laugh.  “If I’m not posing as an alpha they’re gonna _separate_ us.  Who knows if they’ll even prescribe them to me along with whatever bullshit meds they feed us to help diagnose and fix our special brand of psycho.  Dean…I _need_ to go in there as an alpha.  And _stay there_ as an alpha.”

“Fuck.”  His teeth were ground as his mind flash-forwarded through the options.  “I guess dose the fuck up for when we check in then we can ask around?  God knows they sneak shit into rehab all the time, gotta be some kind of black market system going on in there.  We’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Sam pursed his lips and nodded.  “I hope so.”

As much as he wanted to trust his brother, he was nervous.  This wasn’t the kind of situation he could be dropped into and found out as an omega.  It’s not like it was prison, it was the loony bin, with God knows what kind of evil lurking inside the walls.  He didn’t want the people in there getting in the way.  But Dean was right - as long as he could disguise himself to fill out the paperwork, be placed in the alpha sector, they could wing it.

They always managed.

It would be a completely different story if he was the type of omega who could get away with the injections.  Those lasted for the entire month.  But when he was young, he had a bad reaction to them.    
  
Back then, as soon as he presented, John thought that was the best course of action.  Hell, they _all_ did.  Something in Sam’s biology had other plans.  It screamed _no_ to the medication, and the side effects knocked him on his ass and he ended up in the hospital.

The daily pills were the only way he could keep hidden as an alpha safely.

Except…God, he never told Dean.  He never even told _Ruby_ , but he knew deep down that _she_ knew.

The demon blood amplified them.  And it wasn’t just the suppressants.

It had acted like some kind of alpha testosterone coursing through his veins and there wasn’t _anything omega_ left in his biology.  Even if he skipped doses.  It was another way the addiction had crawled into his system and latched on - because he felt invincible, _liberated_ , he felt like nothing could touch him.  For the very first time, he wasn’t a slave to his designation anymore.

Afterwards, when he really thought about it, it made a sick sense.  
  
He wasn’t magically becoming an alpha, or even a beta, for that matter.

He was becoming more _demon_ than human.  And demons?  Didn’t present as _anything_.  They weren’t alpha, beta or omegas.  They were monsters, not humans, and his omega nature was weaning with each drop of blood: he was turning into something much worse.

God, he couldn’t think about that right now.

He couldn’t think about how easy life had been then, and what a hassle he’d been fighting with his entire life.

Sam had to remind himself that he’d done it, managed to work with it this far: he could keep it up.  They’d finagle something.  He needed to keep his faith in his brother, because Dean _always_ came up with a way.

He tried not to sigh when he looked out the window.  Sam attempted to let the fields distract him as they flew down the highway and cleared his mind of unfounded, worry-filled anticipation.  Allow his mind to draw up a blank canvas of some kind.

After all, there were so many things that he needed to ignore right now, since there was no way in hell that he could forget.

\-----------------

It was all a joke, really.

When it came to getting admitted.

All it took was telling the truth about their lives (and that was only the current events in their line of work) and both men were in, things were coming together - so far so good.

Sam had done as he was told, he’d doubled up on his suppressants and practically took a swim in his blockers.  Everything on paper read alpha; and he thought he was through the woods.  Both he and Dean thought they were through the woods.

Until the goddamn medical exam.

Normally, they’d consist of vitals, maybe a quick check up of your temperature, making sure you were healthy and virus free, but this one?  Was very, very, _very_ …thorough.

Nurse Foreman didn’t leave anything out and it was her who discovered a little _something_ that conflicted with Sam’s paperwork.  

When she confronted him about it, it wasn’t pretty.  While she was nice enough, explaining she was an omega and she understood why he wished to hide it, she was firm when she told him it was "for his own safety" that he was grouped with the other omegas.

Sam had pleaded with her, used his puppy eyes and everything in his bag of tricks to beg her to make an exception.  And while she was calming and kind, she also had a backbone of steel.  She didn’t hesitate to make arrangements for the room change.  Hell, everything had changed.

And, fuck, if Sam had never felt so helpless during a case before.

This messed up everything, this was a _monumental_ fuck-up.

Segregation was a thing of the past, everyone was open-minded, sure.  But in situations where people were not of sound minds - like a prison or ( _of_ fucking _course_ ) a psychiatric facility, they needed to be separated.  Especially with the violence that seemed to be catching fire around the center as of late.

Martin was an alpha.  Dean was an alpha.  They’d have the same schedule in the rec room, in the yard outdoors, Sam was by himself and...useless.

God, he wanted to punch something.

They’d arrived later in the day - Dean and Sam only had a brief moment to catch up on what was going down while they passed each other in the hall.  It was then that Sam also watched a bizarre interaction, as one of the patients grabbed Dean and made out with him like he was the last drink of water on Earth.  It was near lights out, but now that they’d made a mental map of the facility (separately.  Which Sam was still bitter and felt downright degraded about) the brothers made a plan to meet up later that night.

But before then, when Sam walked into his room and the lights in the hall flickered off, he had something _else_ to do.

Dean had decided they were going to wait awhile.  Well past the time everyone had fallen asleep, and that gave Sam a chance to fix this massive wrench in the machine.  Or…at least he _hoped_.  Because, unknown to his brother, Sam happened to have a wild card in his deck.

He waited, long enough so that the halfway sane patients had fallen asleep and the truly mad ones wouldn’t think twice if they heard him speaking to himself.  After all, that may be what this amounted to.  If it didn’t work.  Or, if it worked and a certain someone decided to toy with him.

Sam took a deep breath in, sat in the middle of his bed, closed his eyes.  And he prayed.

In a matter of minutes, the cot lurched next to him and he opened his eyes to find an extremely delighted archangel whispering the words, “Wow.  Didn’t know you had it in you, kiddo.”

Sam maneuvered his entire body to face him, blocking the sight of the other man from the door and countered, “Giving _you_ an ultimatum this time?  Yeah.  Figured it would catch you off guard.”

“Interesting locale.  Quite the romantic getaway.”  Gabriel eyed what was nothing more than a glorified cell with a lackluster tone, but his whole demeanor turned on a dime when he commanded, “I wanna hear you _say it_.”

“You already did.”  The omega narrowed his eyes, but Gabriel wasn’t backing down.

“It’s not the same.  It sounds so much better on your tongue.”  He brushed his fingertips down the side of Sam’s face.  “C’mon.  Or are you just all ‘pray’ and no ‘talk?’”

“I want you to wipe Nurse Foreman’s memory of me being an omega.  Get me in the alpha wing and I’ll let you fuck me however you want.  If you don’t?  I’ll never let you touch me again.”  Sam roughly grabbed Gabriel’s wrist and pushed it away, because he wasn't in the mood to play games.  “What’ll it be?”

“You really think you can resist me?”  He raised an eyebrow, but added, “Although the incentive of having you however I want you _is_ promising.”

Gabriel looked thoughtful for a second, eyeing Sam with that predatory gaze that would have made the omega weak in the knees if he hadn't already been sitting down.  Just before fizzling out of existence.  

With a growl, Sam punched the mattress out of resentment and cursed under his breath.  Of course that asshole would-!

Nearly as quickly as he disappeared, he flashed back into reality - up, close and personal - and dove forward to nip at Sam’s neck.  After sucking the tender skin between his teeth, Gabriel gently ordered, “Cool your jets, Gigantor.  I was doing recon,” as he shoved the omega down to the mattress and hovered over him.

Then _hope_ sprung up in Sam’s chest, because Gabriel had taken the bait on his planted motivation, and that meant-

“Sorry, kid,” Gabriel kissed him once, oddly chaste, before pulling away.  “As much as I wanna plow you into this ghetto-ass excuse for a bed, I can’t hold up my end of the bargain.  And you know how big I am on that front.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  The omega’s eyes widened because Gabriel still looked like he _wanted_ to make good on the deal.  
  
Hell, he’d taken the initiative to find the woman, that had to have been where he’d flown off to.  There was desire in his scent _but…something_ was stopping him.  What the hell could-?

“I know you’re pissy when I’m in your head, and _of course_ I wanna fuck you ‘til you can’t feel your legs, _but_ I can’t scrub a monster’s brain.”  The archangel continued to linger just out of range.  “You’re dealing with a wraith.  I’m sure she got her paws on you too.”  He lifted his hand until it was touching Sam’s forehead and a pulse of light sent a warm sensation through his body.  “Remember, I don’t like it when people, _or_ monsters, touch my things.”

He finally sat back in his own personal bubble and Sam watched him with a dropped jaw.

“My guess is Deano’s already filled with venom, just like you were.  But he's not my priority.  Nasty stuff.  You better gank that bitch before she does anymore damage.”  His eyes were narrowed and he was wearing a frown.  “Next time, come up with a proposal you can actually make good on.”

This time when he vanished, Sam knew Gabriel was gone for good.

The omega’s heart was racing for so many different reasons.

They were dealing with a wraith.  It was the nurse, who could infect and feed on every single patient in the entire facility - the perfect buffet for a monster like that.  They’d both been infected and…Gabriel had cleansed him of her venom?  And, fuck, Sam would never admit it out loud but he had been secretly wishing, ever since the last time the archangel had revved him up, that the first choice of his prayer was the one he would choose.

He cursed when he realized what time it was, he needed to meet back up with his brother.  It was show time.

\-----------------------

Sam had to think on his feet when he caught sight of Dean, because he had the information.  They didn’t need to interview the witness who saw the monster anymore, but they headed that way while the omega thought about _how_ to bring it up.  By the time they’d arrived?

Their lead already hung himself.

Fuck.

“We need to head to the morgue,” Dean ordered after they saw their only witness was dead.  “There has to be some sign, something else we’re missing.”

“Dean, I figured it out.”  Sam finally decided to say screw it and get to the point.  They were already in the alpha residents quarters and he led Dean back to his room, “Just…listen to what I’ve gotta say.”

“We’re wasting time, Sam!  This is the only time we’ll-”

With a roll of his eyes, Sam ushered him back into the room.  Brute force was the only way to deal with his brother when he was like this.  And right now, he was fuming and a half second away from shoving Sam aside and going by himself, guns blazing.  With a raised finger to his lips, Dean finally took the advice and calmed down.

“Okay, genius, what did you figure out?!” the alpha was downright bitchy and hissed while crossing his arms.

“It’s a wraith.”  Sam slowly stated then barreled in with his story, “I was able to get into the morgue earlier and the signs were there, I just wasn’t able to put it together until I was thinking in my room before we met up.  And wraiths they need to infect people with their venom, right?  Who do we know who has touched everyone?”

Dean continued staring at him blankly.

“Okay, there was no need whatsoever for that intense of a medical exam!”  He finally snapped, “And even if there was, the more I thought about it, there was no way for Nurse Foreman to know I was an omega!  I was just bent out of shape at the time because I was found out.  But…even with the tests she did, even though they were awkward and invasive, the results _wouldn‘t_ prove _anything_.  Not unless she was something else, something _more_.  I just didn’t see it at the time.”

“So you’re saying the Nurse is the big bad?”  Dean finally considered it and nodded, “Yeah, that would make sense.  I was thinking it’d have to be someone on staff…but how did you get wraith out of all of this?”  His brows were knitted in confusion.

“Dad’s journal.”  That was Sam’s go-to answer.  “The, uh, results of the autopsy.  The…”

A voice suddenly echoed in his head, one laced in cocky amusement:

_‘Brains sucked dry, boy wonder.  Silver kills it.  You really planned this one out, huh?’_

Through gritted teeth, Sam repeated, “The brain was sucked dry.  And I’m pretty sure silver is the way to go to gank it.”

_‘Cue - applause!’_

“Well, fuck.  Good deal.”  Then Dean elbowed him in the rib, “Guess you being shipped off into the Omega’s Only Club wasn’t such a bad thing, right?  Should we do some silver searching or leave that ‘til tomorrow?”

“We shouldn’t risk getting caught.”  Sam decided, especially now that almost all the leg work was done.  “We need to get Martin in the loop, fill him in and get the silver tomorrow.  Take her out tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” the alpha nodded enthusiastically.  “Hopefully there’s some kind of silver up in this bitch.”

“I know, that’s going to be the hard part.”  Sam sighed and then headed for the door.  “Gotta be some hiding somewhere.  We’ll just have to dig around.”

“Roger that!  Sleep with one eye open.”

Sam scoffed as he left.  As if he hadn’t been doing that for the last three days anyway.

\---------------------

The truly terrifying thing about the hunt was seeing what the venom of the wraith had done to Dean.  What it was _supposed_ to do to Sam.    
  
What _Gabriel_ had _protected him from_.

The hallucinations, the fear on his face - not knowing what was real and what wasn’t.

What kinds of things would Sam have seen?  God knows that kind of poison doesn’t just stay in your body - it drips into your pores, into your core.  There was no doubt in the omega’s mind it would have fucked him up.  His hallucinations would have been cutting deeper into the recess of those hidden places he wanted to keep buried.

Where he thought of himself as a monster.  Where he was still trying so desperately with each passing day to keep that part of himself at bay.

It was rewarding to stab that silver-plated letter opener in her goddamn chest.

Even though Gabriel hadn’t done what he’d asked him to when he prayed that night…fuck if Sam hadn’t felt like he’d done something even _more_ important for him.

And he hated it.

He shouldn’t feel indebted to him, this wasn’t even a blip on the archangel’s radar and Sam was feeling overwhelming relief.

Dean noticed his silence and his pensive daze right away as they escaped the facility.

He cleared his throat and nodded to his brother with a, “Dude, you really saved my bacon.  But…I don’t get it.”

“Get what.”  He was on autopilot.

“Why weren’t _you_ tripping balls like I was?  I mean, I was at Woodstock and you were, like, at church.”

Sam tried not to scoff at his choice of words, so he shrugged them off.  “I don’t know.  Maybe in the process of outing me, she forgot to pass me the blunt?”

“Ah.”  While Dean nodded his head, he didn’t seem convinced.   “Well, whatever happened, I’m glad it did.  That shit was _nuts_.  I think we deserve a drink.”

The omega tried to force a smile to show his agreement.  “Yeah.  But how about a shower and a change of clothes first?”

“Yeah.  Definitely need to wash off the crazy.”  Dean agreed heartily and concentrated on the road from there on out.

They needed to put a little bit of mileage between them and Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.  Sam needed to put a little more distance between him and his inner monologue and focus on something else.  Except this time, he didn’t have the distraction of scenery to watch fly by as they drove.  So he read signs that passed by on the expressway.    
  
The names of exits.  Which ones had fast food, which had Mom and Pop diners.  Sam watched the numbers shift forward on the clock.

He had to think about anything else besides the easy turn the hunt took because of their uninvited plus one.    
  
He wouldn’t allow himself to get used to this.  It would be too simple, too...nice to imagine such an addition.  How strange, that Sam’s ideal concept of domesticity didn’t involve a white picket-fence, but rather a certain alpha helping on hunts - becoming part of their self-appointed “team free will.”  But that happiness was... _real_.  Yet, so unachievable.  
  
That was how skewed his life was.


	3. Chapter Two

  
  
The moment Sam had his body back from that idiotic teenager dabbling in the occult, a relief washed over him like it never had before.  

Relief and horror.

He had to get his shit back together because all Gary had cared about was fulfilling his own stupid agenda.  He had no idea the body he’d swapped for his own beta one was an _omega_.  Gary didn’t know the _importance_ of taking fucking _suppressants_ , and Sam ordered Dean to take him to the nearest pharmacy for a heavier dosage.

It had been _days_ since Sam had been himself, since his own, real body had been _neglected_ , and he couldn’t risk going into a random heat because of it.  That was out of the question.

They camped out at a motel, phoning Bobby (one of the select few who even knew Sam was an omega) to let him know to send out other hunters while they made sure Sam’s biology held even and steady.  The disclaimer: only call if it had to do with the apocalypse on the verge of being signed, sealed and delivered.

Dean went out and kept himself busy in town.  But Sam was still nervous, edgy and laying in wait on what seemed to be a goddamn bed of eggshells.

It had been years, God, he couldn’t even _remember_ the last time he’d experienced a cycle, and it wouldn’t do.  He was obsessive about his suppressants, and all it took was a goddamn body swap and a dumbass _teen_ to potentially ruin him.

But so far...he felt fine; he felt normal.  

Maybe a little hint of nausea from the intensity of the suppressants, similar to a morning-after pill.  He only knew because the pharmacist had _insisted_ on explaining that to him.  The light bulb went off later, realizing he’d been with Dean who she probably thought was his alpha (per _usual_ ) and the familiar irked-feeling set in at _everyone_ assuming they were a damn couple.  But there were no signs of a heat coming on.  By day three, Sam told Dean he’d be fine - but Dean wasn’t _just_ his big brother, he was his _alpha big brother._  He all but ordered they waited out the full 'just to be safe' week.

Maybe it was simply because he was pissed he hadn’t noticed Sam wasn’t Sam early enough.  Dean was probably blaming himself.  It didn’t matter how much the omega promised he was good, that it wasn't his fault, Dean just _loved_ carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

At least during the week, Dean spent some time with Cas.

They’d go out (Sam even suspected on a hunt but kept it hushed, as to not make him feel bad about scratching that itch) so Dean didn’t get cabin fever.

Instead, _Sam_ was the one beginning to get come down with cabin fever.  But the little logical tendrils of worry on the horizon quashed any bits of stir-crazy that began to form.  He was fine.  It was almost like when he was little and Dean and Dad went out on hunts.  Except now, he was full grown _and_ he knew how to work the TV better than he used to.

He’d dozed off one afternoon when Dean was out with Cas and mentioned they may not be back that night.

He didn’t know how long he was asleep, but he woke up sweating, throbbing hard, and slick between his legs.    
  
He wasn’t alone.

“Good.”  Gabriel grabbed his shoulder and tossed him onto his back with the announcement of, “I was getting worried, ya know.”

Sam’s chest was eagerly breathing in the scent of the alpha above him.  A scent he hadn’t known he’d missed, that he craved and it left him reeling as Gabriel moved to straddle his hips.  It only took him a few seconds to put together the pieces.  Gabriel had knocked him out of one of his wet dreams and pulled them both back to reality.  He didn’t have to say a word as the alpha continued what he was up to.  Again, he had the omega’s full attention as he settled his weight in Sam’s lap.

“You, Sam Winchester, used to dream about me fucking you into a mattress _every_ damn _night_.  And then you go radio-silent.”  With a fake pout, he mused aloud, “I thought to myself, _self_ \- was it wrong to put out on the first date?  Should I have played hard to get, left him wanting more?  Is my precious little omega of the hit-it-and-quit-it variety?  Way to hurt a guy’s feelings.”

Gabriel leaned down and then asked quizzically with a slightly dangerous edge, “Or, I wondered - did Sammy get what he wanted from me after that hunt?  Was I being _played_?”

“N-no!”  Sam finally found words, because he needed Gabriel to know that.  “That was the _last_ thing I meant!  About that hunt.  I felt like because you helped…I used you or something.  I didn’t mean to, and I felt guilty about it.”

“Use _me_?”  The words seemed to tickle the archangel.  “Wait.  So it was _guilt_ that locked me out?”  He raised an interested eyebrow.  “Of _all_ reasons?”

“Well, and the fact that I haven’t been myself lately.”  He huffed as he reiterated, “Some high school kid worked some hoodoo and stole my body for a while.  Ignored my designation.  Now I'm on emergency suppressants, hoping I-”  Then Sam stopped in his track and demanded, “Why do I have to explain myself to you?!”

Gabriel looked intrigued and, for the second time, (and the first, brief - yet needed - touch of this encounter) pressed two fingers on his forehead.

“They worked fine.  You’re not gonna go into heat.”  He filled in the blanks with words, quelling the fears that Sam hadn’t said aloud.  Then with a self-satisfied smirk he added, “Well.  I’m glad it’s not me, it’s you.  Because that dream you were just having?”  He finally ground down and rutted their hips together, eliciting a moan from Sam’s throat, “Just too good for me to stay away.”

Although the friction was amazing and Sam wanted nothing more, two things weighed on his mind that kept his fists clenched around the bed sheets rather than reaching for Gabriel.

“Dean could be back at any time,” he stated, then added with a glare, “And I don’t know what the hell kind of stipulations you’re going to throw my way today.  I’m not in the mood.”

With a chuckle, Gabriel crawled down Sam’s body and hovered over his erection.  “Dean and Cas are on a mission right now.  They’re not gonna be breakin’ down doors anytime soon.  Trust me.  And as for the first stipulation?”  His fingers were poised right over the button to Sam’s jeans, “You can ask me to leave, or I’m going to undress you.  I’m going to take pleasure in seeing every inch of your naked skin in the daylight because of your _lovely_ afternoon timing.”

Sam’s brain wanted to short circuit as Gabriel popped the button, raised an eyebrow and slowly pulled down the zipper.  There was something so much more intimate about this, about Gabriel taking the time to strip away his clothing, rather than snapping his fingers.  Sam couldn’t help but lift his hips as Gabriel pulled the jeans down but left his boxers on.  He took off his socks, one at a time, then on the way back up purposefully dragged his hard cock over Sam’s.

The sensation made Sam gasp and Gabriel’s eyes unmistakably darken with lust.  The omega could read every hint, every nuance on the angel’s face in the afternoon light and maybe he was getting off on it too.  Gabriel was always expressive, and even though he played cool under pressure, when he was taking Sam apart, he was never unaffected.  Whether it was haughty glances, seductive stares or hunger - Sam loved to see it in its full glory.

In fact, Sam never stopped watching him.

Sam was only wearing a cotton t-shirt, not his normal flannels, full of buttons and layers, so when Gabriel hooked his fingers under the seam and pulled it off, the chill of the room hit the omega’s skin right away.  Yet Gabriel’s body heat was just close enough to radiate and warm him, the alpha’s blood ran hot.  But, hell, if he didn’t want more.  Sam wanted so much more, and it was hard _not_ to _take_ for himself.

It seemed like the alpha really was saving the best for last.  He fell back to his haunches and took in the sight of the already debauched and needy omega underneath him, then he went back down for the boxers.

The minute they were tossed aside the scent of slick filled the air.  Sam watched as Gabriel’s nostrils flared and the alpha’s scent responded brightly in return.  He was still settled between the omega’s legs, and just because he _could_ \- Sam decided to be proactive and spread them invitingly.  After all, there was no use in hiding it, there were no secrets about it anymore, and if they could just get on with it without any of Gabriel’s bullshit ultimatums, Sam would gladly play a part in seducing him instead.

But, of _course_ , Gabriel had to open his big fat mouth.

He nuzzled his cheek against Sam’s knee and asked with glowing mischief, “Do you want to know about Dean and Castiel’s mission?  Or we can keep going.”

Sam paused for a second because…why would Gabriel bring _that_ up?  

The omega assumed they were on a hunt.  Apparently, Gabriel knew all the specifics - but why would it be of interest to _him_?  As long as Cas was with him, his brother would be all right.  Unless it was something serious.  But if it was, Gabriel would bait him with more than that.  Right now, Sam wouldn’t play into it.  He would chalk it up to Gabriel using something to spark his curiosity, nothing more.

“Take your clothes off.”  Sam suddenly ordered, which had Gabriel’s attention piqued.

“…Or else?” he led him.

“Or else you leave right now.”  It flowed naturally.

Gabriel wasn’t the only one who wanted to take advantage of the well-lit room.

“Mm, I love it when you’re sassy.”

Gabriel didn’t hop off the bed like a normal person.  He stood up on the mattress, still looming over Sam and pulled his clothing off, piece by piece.  He could tell he had Sam’s rapt attention by the way the omega was staring at him the entire time, and made a show of it - the scent of fresh slick motivating him even further.  

When the last item of clothing was tossed away, Gabriel grabbed his cock and jerked himself a few times, relieving some of the built-up tension, and proclaimed, “This is fun.”

“Get back down here,” Sam growled, because it wasn’t like he could knock him over.  If the archangel been positioned to the side of the bed, he could have yanked him back.  But loitering above him gave him no control in the situation.  That was likely intentional.  Dammit.

In a flash, Gabriel went from standing to dropping down - the alpha’s form landing perfectly to box Sam in with his arms in legs.

The omega couldn’t take it anymore, he was close enough now that Sam surged upward and captured his lips.  It managed to surprise Gabriel, Sam took advantage of the momentary stall while he could, but the archangel managed to gain the upper hand again in no time flat.  It was easy, especially when Gabriel wrapped a hand around the base of Sam’s neck and used the other to fist both of their cocks together.

The friction was amazing, just on the right side of brutal, and had the omega whimpering in no time.  He couldn’t form words, but both his body and his scent spoke volumes for him.  He didn’t know how far this would go, but if he knew Gabriel, he was damn sure it wasn’t going to stop at a dry hand job.  So Sam kept kissing him, bit his lip hard enough to taste the metallic tang of blood and it made the man’s inner alpha roar to life.

Gabriel ducked down to mouth at the hinge of Sam’s jaw and taunted, “We playing rough, Sammy?”

Staying quiet was his best bet, he decided.    
  
Sam knew it would drive Gabriel crazy.    
  
He knew damn well the archangel wanted an answer in return, since it was very rare he asked a _question_.  Otherwise he would deliberately give the option of silence.

When he latched onto Sam’s throat and sucked a mark _with_ the graze of teeth, Sam’s hips bucked off the bed and he shouted out.   _Holy hell_ \- if that had been even a _bit_ more wild, if that had broken skin - that would have been a _mating mark_.

Why the fuck did that go right to Sam’s cock?    
  
Why was he gushing and soaking the sheets with slick?    
  
Why was his inner omega going insane with desire and begging at the concept?  Maybe Gabriel knew their inner animals had this strange connection and he was fighting dirty, just to spite him.

“Gabriel!”  Sam spat and tried to pry him away.

“Thought you wanted it rough.”  He sounded downright feral, and it looked as though he hadn’t gone unaffected either.  “Did you know that Dean and Cas are in the past right now?  Trying to keep Anna from some kind of kamikaze mission?  Do you want to know what?  Or do you want me to fuck you ‘til you can’t walk?”

Sam wasn’t thinking about the barrage of questions.  The first part didn’t register, all that he knew, all that consumed him, was the still-pulsing outline of teeth on his neck.  His body was _screaming_ for Gabriel's, and he was demanding, “Fuck me, _now_!”

Even if Gabriel believed that piece of news would stop Sam dead in his tracks - he wasn’t thinking either.  They were both too tangled, too scent-drunk and savage.  And instead of flipping him over, he took advantage of Sam’s spread legs as an invitation to slam into his dripping, hot body.

The room echoed with Sam’s cries of pleasure.  Thank God Gabriel had the foresight to use enough grace to make room for his thick cock.  The omega squeezed him tight between his thighs, but as he started to plunge in and out of Sam’s hole, his heels digging against Gabriel’s back just wouldn’t do.  Gabriel manhandled the omega until both his knees were over his shoulders and he could thrust into him even deeper.

But more than that, (even though he wouldn’t admit it) the archangel felt himself missing the taste of Sam’s lips.

It was messy, sloppy and carnal - both were driven out of their minds with lust and it was _perfect_.

When Gabriel’s knot started tugging against Sam’s rim, it was a wake-up call and he had to think fast.  He had the feeling Sam wasn’t going to let him just leave like last time, and if he asked Gabriel to: he’d stay.  But this was more _intimate_ than resting behind the omega, they’d be tangled together, face to face.

The choice was made for him when Sam barked out, “Don’t you dare stop!”

“Heh,” Gabriel punctuated his thrusts and moaned when his knot was finally worked inside, making them one.  “I already got you addicted to my knot, little omega?”

Sam was grinding against him, arching into every slam of their hips and snapped back, “Shut up.  I’m close, don’t even think about pulling away-”

When Gabriel took a proverbial step back to look at his omega, glistening in the sun from their sweat, his muscles contracting with every move, his face overwhelmed and contorted with sheer pleasure- _fuck_.  He couldn’t get over this filthy, amazing sight-

The alpha had to remember Sam’s words, because the image before him was more than enough to get him off.  Gabriel folded Sam’s body in half and licked the raised patch of skin along the column of his throat.  And that alone had Sam shouting out and clenching around the alpha’s cock.  He could feel the hot spurt of cum between their bodies.

With a few more punctuated thrusts, Gabriel’s knot swelled and his cum poured inside that tight, beautiful ass.  But the animal inside him still craved _more_.

Up close to his neck seeing the shallow mark, Gabriel felt a scalding possession of this man.    
  
The need to _claim_ was overwhelming and he continued rocking inside Sam’s body.  It earned him whimpers and the desperate clinging of arms around his back, because Sam’s overly-sensitive body could feel every individual slide of his dick.  Which gave Gabriel such gratification.

Just as knowing that _he’d_ been the first to fuck him had.

His second orgasm was building up and then Sam surprised the hell out of him by grabbing _him_ and boldly sucking a mark onto Gabriel’s neck.

It punched the wind from his lungs, as well as a long, unashamed moan and he was blowing another load into the omega.  He could hear Sam gasp and take heavy breaths as he was riding out the euphoria and relishing the amazing tight heat wrapped around his cock.  And, oh, the stunning scents.

Except, Sam’s scent was a strange mix of things, he noticed, as the omega slowly lowered his legs back down to the bed from where they’d been hiked over Gabriel’s shoulders.  The gratification was incomparable.  It was such a sweet smell, but then there was…

“My bad.”  Gabriel tried to play it off, using his grace yet another time today.  “Keep forgetting you’re a virgin.”

Sam sighed in relief because as much as he enjoyed it, the stretch of not only Gabriel’s huge knot but two loads of cum - it was almost too much.  Especially since he’d forgone any prep and literally dove right in.  But that had been undeniably hot and he wouldn’t lie and say he hadn’t loved every second on it.

“Not a virgin.  Unless I imagined the first time you fucked me,” he tried to joke as Gabriel maneuvered them onto their sides, legs still intertwined together, and this was good.    
  
Very good.

“I should hope not.  Or else we have very similar imaginations.”  He wiggled his eyebrows, then added snarky bravado when he asked, “Let me guess.  Ya want the whole experience and wanna wait until my knot goes down?”

“Don’t sound so put out.“  Sam’s face actually fell for a split-second because that made him sound needy and that wasn’t…he refused to show weakness in the face of the archangel.  God knows that was intense, maybe too intense, and there were so many things happening to him right now.  But he caught himself (hopefully in time) and aimed for nonchalance.  “Well, I guess I don’t need it…since you already forced yourself to stick around for it once, huh?”

Now Gabriel was caught off guard - because he'd been fully ready to stay.  That was basically his unsaid inquiry when he’d questioned whether Sam wanted him to knot him.  But apparently he'd offended the omega somehow, “I didn’t mean for you to take it that way, kiddo, I don't-”

“I’m sure you’ve got better things to be doing.”  Sam forced himself to sound neutral even though he _wanted_ Gabriel to stay, he’d ordered him around today too much already.  He didn’t want to push him too far, he didn’t want to push his luck and then end up pushing him _away_.  “You already got your answer about why I haven’t been ’praying’ or whatever.  And, uh, thanks for letting me know about the suppressants workings.”

The alpha was not going to be outdone.    
  
If Sam was going to play it this way, he’d roll with the punches and then one-up him.

So he snapped his fingers and he was fully clothed again.  Except, right before they manifested - he pulled the same stunt he did last time.    
  
However when he brushed his fingertips against Sam’s puffy, well-fucked hole: there were two distinct differences.    
  
This time, the omega was filled with _two_ loads of his cum and while he briefly teased the omega's opening, he also sucked on the angry mark marring Sam’s neck.  Both of which had Sam yelping and writhing all over again.

He pushed Sam onto his back, leaving the omega looking completely shocked and affronted.  But Gabriel didn’t give a rat’s ass.

“Now you won’t forget about me, Sammy.”  He cupped the side of the hunter’s face.  “I don’t like feeling neglected.  Same rules apply as before, but you’ll have to be careful.”  He winked as he made a dramatic face, “Bigger mess, and all.”

The omega didn’t seem as shocked about that, as he did the second thing - hand flying upward and slapping over top his neck.  “Y-you’re not healing it?  Gabriel!  I can’t explain this!  You can’t-!”

“I told you.  You’re _mine_.”  He leaned forward and kissed Sam’s forehead.  “Maybe one of these days you’ll just admit it.”

“Admit I’m your _plaything_?!  Why the hell would I-?!”

That’s when Sam realized he was shouting out into thin air.

He stood up, the now cold air biting at his naked skin and rushed to the bathroom.  He didn’t need to reach out for the light switch as it was hours before sunset and the windows illuminated the space.  Hell, it could have been night and he’d still see it.

There was no missing it, no mistaking it for what it was.

The perfect outline of the teeth.  Prominent, already bruising and scraped into his neck.

Sam doubled over and grabbed the edge of the sink to keep himself standing upright as he stared.

But the more he stared, the more he remembered his body’s response to it.  And, Jesus, it had been glorious.  His inner animal, his primal omega was begging, was desperate for more.  It was horrifying in an amazing way, because all he’d wanted in that moment was Gabriel’s teeth to dig just a _little_ harder, to leave a _real_ mark - not just the shadow that was present now.

His fingertips slowly gravitated towards it and brushed the pair of crescents.  Even the dull pain from his own pressured touch sparked something inside him.    
  
Fuck.    
  
This was not okay.  Nothing about this was alright.  Neither was the tell-tale warmth _inside him_.  Unlike last time, he could actually feel it and it was torture.

Sam had to get away from this, he had to distance himself, he had to-

But then he remembered Gabriel’s final words before everything had funneled into passion-fueled, pure insanity.

...Castiel and his brother were in the past?  With Anna?  Nothing had changed in the present, so whatever she was planning hadn’t succeeded - but what the hell could be happening?  Unless the archangel was bluffing.

The omega immediately went for his phone and dialed Dean’s number.

But it went right to voicemail.

No matter how many times he called, he received no response.

He slowly started to panic in a brand-spanking new way, because for the first time…what if his dick had truly blinded him to something serious?  He cursed himself over and over, thinking of the repercussions and-

What if something happened to his brother while he was too busy in this dumb cat and mouse game with the archangel and the fault laid solely on him?  What if he’d fucked up and been led astray, again, by some distraction when there were much larger things afoot and Gabriel was keeping him from seeing the big picture?  What if this was all another lesson?  A trick?  No.  He refused to let that happen.

\-----------------

“So this praying thing is much less fun than just sneaking into your dreams.”  Gabriel popped into the motel room just after four in the morning to see Sam sitting at the desk with his arms crossed.  “Can’t get enough?”

“I need you to tell me what’s going on with Anna,” Sam demanded, determined to set things right, because after much recollection?  He felt like he was beginning to spiral.

He’d mulled over it, time and time again, but all arrows pointed back to Gabriel.  He was the only source Sam had since Castiel wasn’t returning his prayers, Dean was AWOL and Anna was clearly the last person who he should be attempting to get a hold of.

Gabriel groaned, and grabbed the chair across from Sam, spun it around and straddled it.  “Ya know, this continued promise of ‘having my way with you however I want,’ it doesn’t really work, right?”  He gave the omega a good once-over and clucked his tongue, “I’m pretty sure I could do that all by myself these days.”

Suddenly, Gabriel snapped and the rush of cum from the afternoon leaked out, tearing a harsh gasp from Sam’s lungs and caused him to buckle in half, elbows crashing to his knees.  The archangel looked quite satisfied while he watched the omega try to catch his breath, his scent danced with hints of lust all over again.    
  
Yet, there were other things in his scent.  It was tainted in frustration and, this time, a bit of bitter anger.

“Wanted to hold onto that ace up my sleeve for a hot sec, but I needed to prove a point, too.”  Gabriel folded his arms with a Cheshire-grin, choosing to avoid the negative haze around the omega, and took in the sight of Sam literally waging a mental war before his eyes.  “I told you, you belong to me.”

It looked like irritation won in the end, as Sam growled out, “What’s happening to my brother?!”

Gabriel appraised him and shrugged his shoulders.  “Anna’s a little cray-cray these days.  She thinks the only way to stop the apocalypse is by killing you.”

“Then why isn’t she here?!”  Sam ordered with venom, “What the hell did you mean about time travel and-” his words died on his tongue as the realization dawned on him.  “She’s trying to make sure I was never born.”

“Bingo!”  The archangel clapped his hands together.  “Which is why Cas dragged Deano back.  To stop her from her evil plot.  Out of the box, I’ll give her that.  But she’s no match for those protecting you muttonheads.  I wouldn’t worry.”

“No!”  Sam stood up so quickly, he knocked the chair out from under him.  “They’re fighting and I’m here, doing what?  Letting you play mind games with me and fucking me?!”

“Um.  No.”  Gabriel’s voice dropped down a dangerous octave, because he did not appreciate Sam’s tone.  It grated on him.  He liked his accusation even less.  “You’re here because you and big bro were taking downtime because the little omega forgot his suppressants.  You wouldn’t wanna go ass-up in front of a vamp.  Deano and Cas are handling it.  I happened to be helping you pass the time.”

When Gabriel stood up and advanced on him, Sam felt himself shirk despite his stature.  The alpha snapped, “And you wouldn’t have had _any_ fuckin’ _clue_ about any of this if I hadn’t done you a _favor_ and told you.  You’d still be twiddling your thumbs, thinking Cas and Dean were frolicking in a field of goddamn daisies.  Not fighting to save you.  So you’re welcome.”  With a sharply-aimed glower, the alpha added, “They’ll be fine.  If shit hits the fan, I’ll swoop in.  You’re welcome.  Again.”

Before Gabriel could leave, Sam clamped a hand down on his shoulder and pressed the question: “Why?”

His posturing hadn’t slackened in the slightest.  “Why what?”

“You said you’re not choosing sides.  You want this to be over.  Why are you helping us?”  Sam had to ask before he lost his nerve in the heat of the argument.

“I’m helping _you_.  Not ‘us.’”  He scoffed and put his hands on his hips, “And don’t get too full of yourself.  I only came here because you wouldn’t stop whining.  It was an annoyance.”

The omega retracted his hand at the chill in Gabriel’s words.  “You just appeared to tell me so I’d shut up,” Sam summarized and slowly met the archangel’s eyes.  “You’re giving me this information for free.  Wow, that’s awful kind of you.”

“You’re the one who said I’ve got better things to be doing,” Gabriel parroted Sam’s words back to him with stormy indifference.  “So here.  Since I’m in such a benevolent mood.”  He snapped his fingers, and Sam instantly knew what was different…and he _hated it_.  “There ya go.  Once the lovebirds are back from saving your unborn ass, you won’t even have to come up with an explanation.  How awesome am I?”

“Gabriel, don’t be like this, _please_.”  Sam had to force the inner strength to overcome the internal fear when he closed the distance between them and cupped Gabriel’s cheeks with his palms.  “I didn’t-”

But the archangel vanished out from under his touch.

That did not go the way he’d hoped.  Not at all.

If anything, a hint of sadness had washed over Sam now that he was alone once more.  Even though he already had the niggling feeling, the lightning-quick assumption from the tickle of grace, he trudged to the closest mirror.  It still stabbed him a little to see that he was right.

The mark was completely gone.  His skin was flawless, as though the alpha had never even been there to make it in the first place.

A strange emptiness followed Sam into the shower, then to bed that night and he hoped his brother and Castiel returned soon.  He wasn’t sure how long he could deal with the pit in his stomach along with this terrible suspicion of looming isolation on the horizon.  It was so much worse than the cabin fever he’d previously been battling.  God, it was so much worse.

\------------------------

When Sam woke up in the morning, Dean was sleeping in the bed next to him and he felt like he could breathe again.  He froze when he noticed Castiel was hovering just out of eyesight, doing that creepy ‘watching-over-you’ thing that he did.  The angel seemed alarmed when he saw Sam’s eyes on him.

The omega didn’t want to sleep anymore.

Mostly, because he was having nothing but bad dreams.  So he silently pulled back the covers and motioned for Cas to join him outside the hotel.  The angel followed easily enough and they made their way, trekking across the parking lot towards a picnic table just on the outskirts of the motel grounds.    
  
It faced an open field for as far as the eye could see, since they’d camped out in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere.  But the green grass and faraway woodlands were a welcome sight and change of scenery from the inside of the motel room, which was all Sam had been seeing these days.  Not to mention the fresh air smelled amazing.  
  
For some reason, Castiel was acting a bit off.  More so than normal.  And he wasn’t subtle.  He continued to analyze Sam long after they sat down, and the omega hated the blatant scrutiny.

But…there was no way for him to _know_ , right?

Sam cleared his throat and got right down to the point.  “Where were you guys the last two days?”

“We were, uh, on a hunt.”  Castiel stumbled over his words which made the omega internally groan at how fucking pathetic it was.

“Oh yeah?”  He tried for a conversational approach.  “What was it?  Ghost?  Witch?  Demon?”

“Vengeful spirit.”  The angel was looking at his shoes, “The woman was at unrest because-”

“You’re a good friend but a shitty liar, Cas.”  Sam kicked his feet up on the picnic table.  “Now are you going to tell me, or just refuse to?”

Finally, nervous blue eyes met his and he said, “I’d rather not recount the story.  It was painful, but we were victorious in the end.”  But then he did something strange and took his analysis a step further.  The alpha actually leaned inward, sniffing Sam without _any_ subtlety, and stated, “Something is different about you.”

“Uh, yeah.  I’m on heavy-duty suppressants, dude.  Those’ll change anyone’s scent.”  The omega tried to brush it off because there was nowhere for this to go but south.

“No.”  Castiel was so confident.  “It’s something else.”

All right, maybe Sam was a bit curious.  “What else could it be?”

“I don’t know.  But it’s _integral_ \- not superficial.  Have you been…?” the ‘drinking demon blood’ went without saying.

“No!”  Sam was shocked he’d even inquire about that and flew to the defensive, because he was already rattled.  “Wouldn’t you be able to tell right away?  _Wow_.  Thanks for your faith in me.  And thanks for freaking me out.  Good to know something’s ‘integrally wrong,’ but you don’t know jack shit.  Not to mention you won’t tell me about where you guys have been the last two days.  Good talk, glad we trust one another.”

“Sam, I apologize,” Castiel reached out to grab him once he summarized things like that, because he felt awful - but the moment he touched the omega...he froze.    
  
And dug his fingers into the meat of Sam’s calf with an ironclad grasp.

“The fuck!  Cas, that _hurts_!”  He tried to pull himself free, but the angel had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was zoned-in on something, but his face was an eerie blank canvas.  “Cas!   _Let go_!”

The distant, dazed glance transformed into something sharp and precise when he finally released him and then turned his focus on Sam.  With the tilt of his head, he asked in baffled confusion, “ _-Gabriel_?”

“W-what?”  The omega blinked openly, because what the hell was that supposed to mean?  Playing dumb or not, that wasn’t a question, not really.  But what was Cas meaning to say?

With narrowed eyes, Cas was two seconds away from finally coming out with it, but-

“Sammy!  Cas!  What are you guys doing out here?!”  Dean jogged the length of the space between the hotel and nearly-empty parking lot.  “Shouldn’t you still be inside?  What if-”

Sam abruptly got to his feet and chuckled with an emphasized, “I’m _fine_ , Dean.  Never felt better.  I think we’re ready to head out and actually get back on a hunt.  What were you and Cas up to the last two days?”    
  
The omega tried to get away from the angel as a priority and steer them back to the hotel room while he could.    
  
Dean was already stumbling over a reply, so Sam put him out of his misery with, “Guess it doesn’t matter, as long as you made it back in one piece, ya know?”

“Yeah,” Dean laughed back a bit uncomfortably, and looked like he was as eager to ignore it as Castiel was.  “Well, I guess it’s good you’re back in action.  Bobby just called me and said he caught a case of a couple that _ate_ each other to death a few states over.”

With a nod and a whistle, Sam confirmed, “Yeah, that’s definitely our thing.”

“You in, Cas?”  Dean asked the alpha angel who seemed to be smiling a bit more softly at him than Sam last remembered (he’d make a note of that for a later time) and agreed.

“Yes, Dean.  I am ‘in’.”

“Friggin air-quotes.”  He rolled his eyes with a grin and pointed at Sam, but before he could say anything, the omega beat him to the chase.

“I call first shower!”

He did not want to be left alone with Castiel right now. _Especially_ after he’d brought up Gabriel.  Hell no.  He’d let Dean make goo-goo eyes with the seraph while he got cleaned off.  So Sam winked at his brother and moved fast, grabbing his toiletry bag and ducking into the bathroom.

When he shut the door the tension finally left and his shoulders hunched over.

His brother was back.  Cas was back.    
  
They were okay, everything was okay and he hadn’t fucked up like he thought he had, nothing was in ruins, no one was hurt.

Well, who really knew?  He _felt_ like he’d fucked up with Gabriel, even though he didn’t think they had anything _to_ fuck up. Something inside didn’t agree with him.   _Something_ that was arguing with his brain that Sam didn’t even want to think about right then.

Still, once he was under the hot spray of the shower he couldn’t help remembering the last time the archangel had jumped in just to mess around with him.  Telling him over and over, reminding Sam how he belonged to him.  
  
...but maybe the archangel didn’t want him anymore.  Sam was too much work, too stubborn, maybe Gabriel finally realized that.

Sam wondered if those days were completely gone.  He had this sick gut feeling that they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warning** : The artwork at the beginning of next chapter is NSFW


	4. Chapter Three

Of course, when you hear about an innocent couple eating each other to death (especially when one was a virgin with a promise ring) you would naturally feel unnerved.  But Sam, himself, felt off from the second they stepped into town.    
  
There was something going on there and it resonated deep in his bones, a terrible feeling, he couldn't begin to explain.  He’d felt it ever since they’d stopped by the morgue, examined the remains and then later found the symbol carved into the heart of one of the victims.  It made the omega uneasy.

Castiel had a feeling they were staking out a rogue Cupid, which was why they were at this stupid restaurant, decked out to the nines in tacky Valentine’s Day decorations and keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of said Cherub.  But all these happy couples?  Even if it was some stupid Hallmark holiday dedicated to ‘love’ and that bullshit…Sam couldn’t get a certain archangel out of his head.

Sam knew how Gabriel would have delighted in the tacky décor.  He probably would have taken it as a personal challenge to make it even _more_ obnoxiously gag-worthy.  He would have indulged.  He would've stolen everyone’s box of chocolates without a second thought.  Even though Sam hated to admit it, he probably would've also come up with some damn good material from all these love-struck idiots for his just-desserts attitude and retribution.    
  
And for some reason...that thought made Sam smile.

Now, by some strange turn of events, Castiel had an inkling of Sam’s connection to Gabriel.  The omega didn’t know _how_ , and he didn’t know _why_ the seraph was treating him like he had to monitor him or some bullshit; but Castiel was acting like there was something inherently wrong and _offensive_ about his discovery.  It rubbed Sam the wrong fucking way.

Up until this point Castiel had been studying Sam was a certain intensity, however his attention was currently focused on the _burger_ in front of him with an odd, similar, kind of tunnel-vision.  Sam being completely forgotten for Cas’ newest fixation.  Which was bizarre because…angels weren’t supposed to eat, were they?

Sam caught Dean grinning about it out of the corner of his eye.  Like he found it adorable, because that was _definitely_ Dean’s affectionate face.  It made Sam want to huff in annoyance, this whole _scene_ made him shift in his seat, he was so irritated.

Then the second Cas felt the presence they were scouting for, the three were angel-flown into another room and faced with a round and (very naked) enthusiastic man greeting them with sheer delight.

He over-eagerly continued to greet everyone with joyful, nude hugs and exclamations of excitement, cooing about the beauty of love.

That alone made everything so much more confusing...

Sam, for the most part, tried to stay out of the Cherub’s way.  It all turned out to be a dead end - which left them feeling restless,  _especially_ when their parents were brought up.  The fact that John and Mary had needed “assistance,” and weren’t compatible without the bow and arrow?  That made Sam downright unhinged.  The encounter left the Cupid in tears and Sam hustled to exit, but was apparently unlucky enough to be the last one through the door.    
  
And that left him wide open for the flasher‘s attack.

The Cherub reached out with urgency and grabbed him by the wrist.  He looked Sam in the eyes, telling him in a soft, soothing voice, “Samuel, you _need_ to understand.  Love isn’t something to be afraid of.  It’s not a weakness, it’s a _strength_.  Open your heart and-”

The words shocked him so much that he jerked away from the touch, snapping, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

With a dejected pout, the radical angel tilted his head (which seemed to be the norm, no matter what rank) and stated slowly, “Of course you do.  And while my job helps along the process, there are many couples who are meant to be.  Some who don’t even need my bow and arrow at all.  And _that’s_ something special.  You’re experiencing something _profound_ and you need to let it in.”

Sam didn’t want or need to hear anymore.  Especially when he couldn’t get Gabriel out of his head to begin with.  He shot the man a glare and snapped, “I think your radar’s a bit broken.  Maybe it started when _your charges_ began eating each other.”

In the end, he managed to cut the Cherub much deeper than his brother had through his heated words.  He didn't feel even a single ounce of remorse.  The angel was full of bullshit, he didn’t know what he was talking about and the fact that he even had the balls to make those accusations grated Sam’s nerves further.  If those arrows were real, Sam would have turned and shot one into the Cherub’s heart to shut him up.  
  
Wait.  Did he just think that?  
  
...What was this town doing to him?

\-----------------

Eventually, Sam made up a reason to peel off from the group, because he needed to get away from them before he said or did something stupid.  Watching Cas and his brother make goo-goo eyes at each other was too much right now.  He knew the morgue would distract him, so he went back to examine another body, another victim of whatever the hell this thing was.  Since it wasn’t the rogue Cupid they had suspected.

Except…those fucking words the Cherub had declared were ringing in his head.

On repeat.  Like a broken record.  Even as he was elbows-deep into a corpse, his world was gravitating, circulating, around the damn archangel.    
  
God, he was sick.

When he left the morgue, Sam barely managed to come back to himself when something tipped off his hunter instincts.  Something he deemed strange enough to follow.  There was a man with a briefcase who moved just off- _enough_ in a familiar, militaristic way that he knew in his gut was a sign.  They didn’t have any other leads, so it was worth checking out.  
  
Maybe he _was_ acting impulsively.  However, when Sam finally caught up to him, a well-placed slice with Ruby’s knife instantly confirmed his suspicions.  The man to be a demon and a poor excuse for one.  Hell, he turned tail and ran - but he accidentally left the briefcase behind in exchange for his life.  
  
It was something he’d tried desperately to guard during their scuffle.  Which meant it was a clue, and something important.

Sam _finally_ felt like he was doing something right, although the rush from the fight had him all worked up.  He _knew_ inside the tightly-locked case would be a clue, the one they needed.  If a demon had been carrying and guarding it?  Something special was inside.  With the handle firmly grasped in his hand, he hustled back to the hotel.

Dean was surprised when Sam marched through the doors, and slammed it down on the table with a, “Guess what I found on my way out of the morgue?”

“Uh, businessman?  Who you mugged for his PowerPoint presentation notes?”

“Demon.”  Sam corrected with a roll of his eyes.  “There’s gotta be a reason they’re here, right?  I’m guessing whatever’s inside is gonna tell us.”

“All right.”  The alpha rubbed his hands together.  “Let’s crack this baby open!”

As he was working on the lock, Dean looked over to his brother and asked, “You all right?  You seem kinda…on edge.”

Sam had already unbuttoned the top half of his shirt and he shrugged.  “Just…hot.  I don’t know, I thought it was the fight or flight thing when I was in it with that demon, but it hasn’t gone away.  Maybe I’m getting sick, or something.”

“Don’t eat me, dude.  Like patient zero: Romeo and Juliet edition.”

“Don’t be a jerk.”  Sam rolled his eyes.

“I got it!”  Dean stepped back a little as the click sounded and threw open the lid.

Out from the case, exploded a huge, blinding burst of light that disappeared just as quickly as it had erupted.  They both stared at where it’d vanished before looking at one another in confusion.  Because…what the _hell_?  Neither brother had ever seen something so brilliant just up and pop-

“It was a soul.”  Castiel’s voice snapped them out of it and caused them to jump at his abrupt arrival.  “I think I’ve figured it out.”  He was speaking through a mouthful of a burger, gesturing to it as he chomped down.  “It’s a food source - the soul.  I believe it’s meant to feed the Horseman, Famine.  My vessel, Jimmy, he has a craving for red meat.  Which is why I can’t seem to control this…urge.”

Sam realized his breathing was becoming heavier (as was the fever under his skin) as Castiel continued speaking, conjuring up another burger once the last was finished.  It was difficult to listen to him.  But he fought against his body as it escalated to red-hot and focused his ears: he friggin _had to_.

“Hunger.”  The angel tossed the wrapper on the floor haphazardly and cleared his throat, “It comes in all forms.  Sex, attention, love, drugs.  Everyone is starving for something.”

The revelation hit Sam like a brick wall.

The itching under his skin…the fever…he wasn’t getting _sick_.  
  
He was going into _heat_.  

And that was why, no matter _how_ fucking _hard_ he tried, he couldn’t get Gabriel out of his head.  
  
Everything.  All of it, all of _him_ , his every waking thought was centered around the alpha.  But why was his body responding this way?  Why-

“Sam?”  Dean spun around and grabbed the omega’s shoulder, “What’s wrong?  What’s happening?  You know I can’t scent shit under those blockers, but something’s going on with you.   _Something_ is happening to you.”

Sam’s mouth was agape, because…what was he supposed to say?

He was becoming more and more overwhelmed by the second, and the heat was beginning to pool into his stomach.  It wouldn’t be long now until he was a needy, dripping mess and-

“You’ll need to go get Famine without me-”  His throat was dry.  “Fuck.   _Fuck_!”  Sam slammed his hand on the table next to the briefcase, feeling completely helpless because this _wasn’t_ supposed to happen!

“Sammy.”  Dean tried to soothe him by grabbing his face and forcing his attention.  “You gotta give me more, man.  Is it the demon blood?  Was it from seeing that black-eyed sonuva bitch when you were getting the briefcase?  Dude, this is _Biblical_ , it’s okay if you-”

“No, no, Dean, it’s not…” he jerked away, running his hands through his hair, feeling the sweat on his brow glazing across his forehead.

Castiel took a few steps in and examined the omega, because he didn’t need use of his nose to see what was going on.  He could feel it.

“Dean, it’s not the _blood_.”  He placed a hand on the alpha’s shoulder.  “Sam’s going into heat.”

\--------------------

“Shit!”  Dean shouted out into the room where Castiel was staring at Sam who was becoming more and more agitated by the second.  “Okay, you’re right, you need to stay here.  We’ll get Famine, just…why?”  His wild eyes turned to the angel because he couldn’t bring himself to face his brother right then, out of sheer bafflement.  “Of _all_ things, why is _Sam_ going into heat?!  Why is he hungry for-”

“Get out!”  The omega screamed back because it wasn't creeping in any longer, it was consuming him like a goddamn forest fire.  “Please!  You said it yourself, you take care of Famine and get his ring like we did War’s.  Then this is done with.  I…”  He looked at Castiel, because he _knew_ the angel understood.  He _just knew_ after the brief encounter at the last hotel.  That this _wasn’t_ simply about going into heat, it was more, but he _couldn’t_ tell his brother.  “Please…”

The alpha groaned and pulled out his handcuffs, hauling the omega who was in caught up a whirlwind of confusion into the bathroom.

He didn’t know what to focus on when he was set on the ground by a judgmental Dean and pushed against the cold, tile wall.  Castiel was keeping a silent vigil, producing yet another burger from over Dean’s shoulder, while he watched the scene unfold with slightly saddened eyes.

“What are you doing?”  Sam demanded warily as he was restrained to the sink pipe.

“Couple.  In _puppy love_.  Had eaten each other to death,” Dean warned him on his haunches and spelled out, “This is serious shit.  I can’t have you, like, jerking your dick clean off and dying from blood loss.  I know that sounds crazy, but _all this_ is crazy!”  He groaned when he heard yet another burger wrapper from the other room.  “Cas is about to die of a heart attack, I don’t need _you_ dying from _masturbation_!”

“Just…hurry…” Sam huffed out in defeat, hanging his head, overwhelmed by the need in his body.

Maybe Dean was right.  Maybe this was for the best.

“I will.  Hang in there.”

The next thing he knew, the bathroom door was shut and there was a tell-tale scraping that meant it was blocked by something to keep him inside.  He heard the door slamming, and then Sam began twisting around to get out of the cuffs.

Ever since he’d followed that asshole with the briefcase he’d felt the stirrings of his heat without pinpointing what it was, but now it was full-blown and engulfing his system.  But…it wasn’t a _normal_ heat.  No, he hungered for something completely different, he was practically salivating for it.  These handcuffs meant nothing, which was why he didn’t put up too much of a fight when his brother was stringing him up.

He didn’t bother to think, he screamed out into empty bathroom, “Gabriel!  Get your ass down here!   _Now_!  I don’t care if you’re still pissed at me, if you’re angry!  I… _need you_!”

Sam wasn’t sure if it was the pure desperation, the longing, or the pulsating arousal that encompassed his entire being - but the angel appeared in a flash.

He took one hard look, one sharp sniff, which meant Sam had completely broken through the shell of the blockers and Gabriel dropped to his knees in front of the omega.

The handcuffs were gone, he flung open the door like it was nothing, because Sam knew for a fact the archangel hated confined spaces, and he ordered, “What’s happening?  What did you get yourself into?”

All the omega offered was one word, “Famine-”

And then Sam _launched_.

He took advantage of the fact they weren’t locked away and tackled Gabriel with such a force that they cleared the entire bathroom.  When they landed on the carpet of the bedroom, the alpha looked at him with confusion.  Sam was pawing at his clothes, half were ripped to shreds before Gabriel got a grasp on the situation (and Sam) and snapped them up to the bed.

It bounced a few times from the impact, Sam a downright savage animal because his brain was only thinking about Gabriel.   _Naked_.  Pressed against him.   _Fucking_ him.  _Knotting_ him.  He craved him _so_ goddamn _bad._ And now, finally, he was finally in front of him.  Underneath him.  Exactly where he wanted him-

But the archangel quickly turned the tables and pinned down the struggling omega, realizing after the assault, “You’re in heat.  And it’s because of Famine?   _That’s_ what your hunger is?”  He laughed without a hint of humor and groaned, “Well, it’s convenient for you.  That all you gotta do is call, huh?  Room service for sex, on the double.  Kinda feel like a two dollar hooker, kid.”

“It’s _you_!”  Sam growled, trying to break through the brand new restraints that were Gabriel’s very hands as he fought even harder.  “It’s not just sex!  This isn’t a normal heat, I-I think it's my body trying to lure you here.  All I can think about is _your_ mouth, _your_ cock.  The feeling of _your_ knot, needing to feel _your_ cum inside me - it’s driving me insane!  I’ve been trying to hold it together, because it was just thoughts about you at first…but then my heat started because of it, probably so you’d actually want me again and-”

Gabriel’s eyes were wide at Sam’s admission and he watched the disheveled omega in awe.  He understood the power of the Horsemen, what it did to people, and the fact that he, _Gabriel himself_ , was what Sam _truly_ hungered for-

He couldn’t think about that now.  Couldn’t analyze the _genuine_ meaning behind it.

Sam was literally falling apart underneath him, twisting and whimpering, and as pissed off as he’d been about their last rendezvous - he couldn’t punish Sam for it now.  He was too tempting and downright gorgeous like this.

“I’ll take care of you,” Gabriel decided all at once and peeled Sam’s clothes away at record-breaking speeds.

Although he couldn’t take away Famine’s effects without actually killing Famine, he could at least lessen them to the extent that Sam didn’t let this heat literally fuck him to death, like he’d assumed happened to the others.  Since Sam and Dean had obviously been brought here on a case.  Gabriel could lessen it to something half-way ordinary, more manageable, even if Sam would hate being out of control no matter what the circumstance.

The alpha didn’t know whether it was the influence of the Horsemen or Sam’s pure force of will that had him shoving Gabriel down to the mattress.  But he didn’t mind in the least when their lips crashed together, because the way they’d parted last time was bitter.  Sam’s mouth felt right against his, it made _sense_ , and his scent was so fucking delicious.  Gabriel wanted to beg the omega to let one or two heats slip by a year because his writhing, frantic desire was downright exquisite…

If they made it that long.  Which he highly doubted.  But it was wishful thinking, nonetheless.

Still, he mused about whisking them away to a private island where Gabriel and Gabriel alone could take care of like this, fuck him for a week straight, Sam begging so prettily-

“Fuck-!”  A moan erupted from the archangel’s throat as Sam slammed down on his cock from where he’d been straddling his lap.  In a flash, the Gabriel was terrified he’d hurt him, no matter how slick-coated his thighs and pelvis were from Sam’s gushing hole.  He reprimanded, “Sam!  Don’t do shit like that!  Are you-?”

“Mm, I’m great.  God, I love how thick you are,” Sam purred and made a show of leaning back while he rode him, so Gabriel could watch his cock disappear into Sam’s ass every time.  “Feels right, Gabe.  The way we fit together, the way you fill me, makes me feel whole-”

As if he wasn’t breathless before, the words spilling from Sam’s lips, plus the wanton way he was using pure muscle to lift himself up and then slam back down while watching Gabriel’s every move was so goddamn erotic.  The archangel planted his heels into mattress so he could thrust upward into every one of Sam’s downward drops and pound into the omega even deeper.

The impact shook Sam and left his insides raw, but it was what his heat _needed_ , what _he_ needed.  He filled the room with his punctuated gasps as their flesh slapped together, dirty and brutal.

Gabriel taunted him with, “Gonna let me fill that gorgeous ass up with my cum?”

“God, _please_ , Gabe!”

The archangel could feel it in the way the omega’s voice was breaking and his legs were shaking, and he ordered, “You cum for me, Sammy, _now_!”  It was a growled command, nothing but pure alpha power behind it.

One that made the omega’s eyes double in size and had him teetering over and collapsing onto Gabriel, kissing him hard.  Sam milked an orgasm from the archangel when his tumble tugged on Gabriel’s knot at the perfect angle, but then-   
  
… _another_ sensation overwhelmed Gabriel in a way he couldn’t even begin to describe.

From the top of Gabriel’s head to the tips of his toes, he felt a light: a _completion-?_ and a warming that filled all his gaps.  And left him _reeling_.

He reached out and dug his nails into Sam’s back, another wave of euphoria completely covered him, like he was submerged under water, while the omega rocked and he could have sworn…

…did he just black out?

Why would he-

When he blinked rapidly, his muscles were strangely - yet marvelously - sore, he felt unbridled satisfaction and the fiery warmth surrounding him was fantastic.

Sam was gasping, humming and the scent of his heat being quenched for the time being encircled this all-encompassing…happiness?

But that’s when Gabriel _scented_ it, first.  Then _felt it_ , second.

Blood.  Freely _dripping blood_.

And, to any normal human, it would have been a burning tear - but to the archangel, it barely registered.

But the shock _sure as fuck_ did.

His hand flew up of its own accord - and sure enough, he felt the _wetness_ seeping from _his neck_.

It was enough to make his heart stop dead in his chest.  Then when he jerked his head around, he saw with wide eyes that Sam’s lips were covered in crimson red.

Holy.  Fucking.  Hell.

“You… _mated me_?!”  Gabriel demanded in complete bafflement, and laid there in still shock.  
  
All the while, Sam didn’t seem to care in the least.  Hell, he went back to tending for and licking the wound, like a good, proper omega would.  After a _claiming_.

Even though Gabriel could heal the injury in a flash.

But-

Gabriel could neither mend nor destroy the _goddamn bond_ it created.

“Sam!”  He shouted again, but the omega was in a whole other world.  Sam was obviously still in Famine’s clutches - doting on Gabriel completely, in the moment.

So the archangel snapped his fingers, pulling their bodies apart until he was pinning Sam down.  All Sam did was stare up at him aglow in a heady, contented daze.  But, _fuck_ , if he didn’t look amazing: drunk off Gabriel with his lips swollen, vermilion-tinted and body covered in sweat.  When Sam tried to reach up and touch the mark with a languid smile, Gabriel roughly shoved his arm back down with a snarl.

Goddammit, he _never_ could had anticipated this.  And the archangel _knew_ it was partially his fault.  

Sam had even admitted it to him, beforehand.  

His hunger wasn’t for sex - it was for _Gabriel_ , and he’d been _so_ fucking _stupid-_

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”  Gabriel squeezed Sam’s wrists with a bruising force, trying to break him out of his trance.

“Made you mine.”  He chuckled lightly, seductively licking his lips.  “You always say I’m yours.  I’m returning the favor.”

“You can’t be serious-”

Sam bared his neck as he writhed and begged, “Finish it.  Mate me, _alpha_ , prove I‘m yours to the world.  Don't tell me you’re all talk.  Especially after everything you've said, the lengths you’ve gone to already...”

Gabriel didn’t know if it was the stupid rushing pheromones from the fresh bite on his own neck or what, but his mouth was practically salivating at the show of submission.  Sam _never_ submitted, and the beautiful expanse of flawless skin was _ready for the taking_ -

That’s when it all crashed down on Gabriel at once.

Sam never submitted.  

This _wasn’t_ him.  

The omega wouldn’t do this.  No, not _willingly_ , he was still in too deep.  And no matter how tempting, there was no way in hell Gabriel would take advantage of him in this state.

It wasn’t even like the omega was drunk, he was under the effects of Biblical-sized magic.  There was no way Sam would have marked Gabriel otherwise.  There was no way he’d be offering himself up on a silver platter if he were in his right mind.  Even if it was something he wanted deep down.  There was a reason he was hiding it, there was a reason he kept it buried.

And now Gabriel was floundering, confounded with the repercussions.

But… he _still_ wouldn’t have left Sam like this.  Never.  The omega was a danger to himself, and even before he’d been a goddamn idiot and pulled this shit, he’d wanted to protect him.  Now that this stupid mark was carved into his neck?  His alpha protective instincts were going into overdrive…and as furious, as fucking full of rage as he was that it happened-

Sam…wasn’t to blame.

Gabriel kept Sam pinned and blocked out the begging and whimpering pleas falling from Sam’s mouth, because he did not have a handle on the full situation… At all.

All he’d known was that he heard a prayer and flew in.

He was still in the dark about this whole goddamn mess.  He didn’t know where Cas or Dean were, all he knew was that Famine was in town and that didn't spell out anything good.

So he shut his eyes and let his mind make a mental map of the town.

Cas and Dean were on their way to Biggerson’s - that’s where Famine had set up shop and was munching on souls - but it looked like Castiel had been compromised. _Shit_.  

But the most immediate danger came from the demons about ready to break down the motel room door.  

The archangel found it laughable, but it made a sick kind of sense that they thought the omega’s weakness would be the demon blood.

That’s what Gabriel would have banked on, actually.  That was an addiction that had ran deep, almost tore the brothers apart, and an addiction like that would be so easy to fall right back into.  Of course, Famine would have sent them as a nice, delicious snack for _his_ little omega to indulge in.  Since Famine was just another extension of Lucifer and Sam was always his end game.   
  
The idiots probably didn’t even know they were set up-

But it turned out that Sam surprised everyone in the end, his hunger had taken a _drastic_ turn.

It surprised Gabriel, most of all.  And it _showed_ , based on the fact he’d lowered his guard so terribly and it bit him in the ass.  Or, neck, rather.   _Goddammit_.

If things had been different, Sam could have drained the black-eyed fuckers and headed to that restaurant and figured out a way to save the day.  The archangel remembered the power the kid had when the demon blood was in his veins, and paired with his sharp mind.  But Gabriel’s involvement had screwed with the machine.   _He_ was the wrench this time even though he’d never planned on getting involved.  Fuck.    
  
So when the archangel glanced down to the man underneath him he didn’t know whether to offer a smile or glare something awful.

But what he _did_ know, first and foremost, was that he had a little problem to take care of outside the doors before they came barging in.

So he zapped out of the room to handle the pests before they even had the chance to get in.

\----------------

The moment Gabriel left, Sam’s arms flew up to grab the space where he’d been, only to meet nothing but air.  He whimpered all over again, the loss of contact, the loss of the alpha’s presence cut him deep...until he noticed the fireworks exploding beyond the drawn curtains of the motel window.

Sam was too shaky to sit up, and after three bursts of light he heard a voice that filled him with relief.

But...it was too far away and leaning against the furthest stretch of wall in the room.

“Well, don’t we have a little bit of a dilemma, kiddo.”  His arms were crossed, his eyes were narrowed and his neck was absolutely _stunning_ wearing Sam’s mark.

The omega could feel his heart skip a beat, eyes dancing over the fresh claim, and he couldn’t help but obsess about how _right_ it looked.  That it was just as it _should_ be, was _meant to_ be, how they _needed_ to finish the mating, _now…_ It lit a fire in his belly once more and a whine slipped from his throat.  Gabriel felt the building wave of heat right away.  

Which was why he abruptly ordered, “Get a hold of yourself!  Your brother and his pet angel are up to their knees in shit.  You’ve gotten what you wanted, now start using your fucking brain!”  He rounded on him.  
  
The next second, Sam looked down when he felt a rustling impression against his naked skin and noticed with displeasure he was fully clothed.

“You were able to exorcise demons with demon blood.”  Gabriel appeared thoughtful as he sat next to Sam and grabbed his hand.  “I’ve got a damn good feeling you could smite ‘em with angel blood.”  He gestured to his neck.  “Damage is already done.  I’m still in hiding.  So it’s up to you to save them.”

The omega’s jaw fell open at the concept as he tried to rearrange and organize his jumbled thoughts.  His brain was so wired on _Gabriel_ , the archangel was _everything_.  But if his brother and Castiel were _really_ in danger and his mate was offering him a way to defeat the Horseman?  If it was what his _mate wanted_?

Sam didn’t zero in on Gabriel’s throat.  After all, he wasn’t addicted to his blood.    
  
He was addicted to _him,_ and Famine’s curse (or so he told himself) had Sam whispering, “I love you,” as he kissed Gabriel’s lips.    
  
The archangel went rigid, but kissed him back softly before he tilted his chin and offered up his neck.

There was no time to waste.

\---------------------

Dean hadn’t seemed to notice the difference in the way his brother tore Famine apart.

And he promptly threw the omega into Bobby’s panic room the second they won, as Sam’s consolation prize.  

Apparently, he thought Sam had an entire _slew_ of vices, and he was left to detox from something he couldn’t get out of his system in the first place.  Hell, the omega didn’t even know if this type of blood could linger in his body or be purged of.  It was a mystery, who the hell even got angel blood in their system to begin with?

Castiel knew otherwise and looked at him in shock when he didn’t demon-deep-fry but actually _smote_ the demons. Sam’s murderous glare had told him to shut the fuck up and let Dean act as he would.  So the seraph went along with it when Dean locked the omega away.

Gabriel’s voice in his head told him to play it up: play up the pain, the hallucinations, be the actor he needed to be and his alpha brother wouldn’t be the wiser.  Apparently, this was something the archangel _needed_ him to hide, didn’t want a soul to know, and Sam…didn’t blame him.  But, oh, did he blame _himself_.  And it fucking hurt.

The smoldering pain was something Sam didn’t have a problem with.

His shouts of irate frustration came easily.

Because it was all aimed at himself.

He was a fucking idiot.    
  
While going into heat was one thing, all the other things he’d done…he’d _never_ forgive himself.  Sure, while he hadn’t been in his right mind -  
  
He’d mated Gabriel.    
  
The fact that he _had_ wouldn’t change.    
  
It could _never_ fucking _change_ , and that’s what was the worst part: it was irreversible.

Sam had done it without a single moment of hesitation, when the archangel had agreed to _help him_ through his heat, he’d rewarded him by taking advantage and chomped right down on his goddamn neck.  Just when he thought he couldn’t make things any worse between the two of them, he’d…done the unforgivable.  
  
He'd chained the archangel to him, he'd ruined him from a future with anyone else when he clearly wanted nothing to do with Sam.  That was obvious in the way the only thing he'd heard from Gabriel afterwards was to fake it.  Pretend it never happened, because he was going to do the same fucking thing.  Sam didn't blame him one bit-

Even the painful screams and physical thrashing of Sam‘s ‘detox’ couldn’t begin to work the ashamed, depraved anger from his body.  The anger he couldn't get out of his bones, his nerves, his muscles.

He’d _begged_ Gabriel to mate him, he’d told him he’d _loved_ him, he’d _drank from him_ like he had from Ruby all over again.  
  
The worst part was that he _did_ love him...and it took a Horseman to rip it out of him.  It didn't matter, Sam already knew Gabriel would never love him back.

He was disgusted at himself.

Three days, split and bloody knuckles, Dean rushing in to restrain him and even a bout of livid tears later: they deemed him ‘clean.’

But that was the last thing that Sam felt.  He felt so dirty, so unbearably guilty and he’d never hated himself more in his life.  And in a life full of horrible mistakes and inexcusable actions?  That truly _meant_ something.  It wasn't just the fact that he was unwanted, that he'd never see the one person Famine had opened his eyes to falling in love with, it was that he'd hurt and ruined him for his fucking life.  
  
A life that just so happened to be eternal.  Sam couldn't even look at himself in the mirror without shattering it.  This was rock bottom.

\--------------------------

They were still at Bobby’s when Castiel finally confronted him.

Sam was in the junkyard with a fifth of whiskey in one hand while he leaned on the hood of some old beat-up, rusting Ford truck, taking pulls directly from the bottle.  Even though Dean still jumped when angels popped in out of nowhere, the omega was beginning to think he had a sixth sense - Castiel’s appearance did little to startle him.

“It appears you and your brother have similar coping mechanisms.”  The angel still moved robotically, like he hadn’t quite acclimated to his vessel, and it was so unlike Gabriel that Sam laughed.

“Yeah.  You should try it.”  The omega rolled his eyes, muttering, “Sometimes it’s better to feel numb.”

“Perhaps you’re more different than I gave you credit for.”  His words were partially hummed, “I believe Dean drinks to _feel_.”

Sam scoffed and looked at the ground.  He was so far out in the salvage yard that untamed grass was growing underfoot, rather than the dirt or gravel of the roads.  “Feeling…that’s the last thing I want.”

“You didn’t have a thirst for demon blood, Sam.  Nor did you partake and use it to exorcise the demons.”  Castiel was suddenly right up in the omega’s space, crowding him.  “I’ve bided my time long enough.  I know what Famine’s curse did to you even though your brother has no idea.”  The alpha’s eyes were almost slits when he demanded, “How did you ever convince him to give you his blood?  Why would you even want it?”

“Are you pissed off because I’m an _abomination_ and you think I took advantage of an angel?”  Sam was drunk and irritated at Castiel’s tone, so he fearlessly turned to go head to head with him.  “I don’t need your posturing bullshit, I get enough of it from my brother.  Screw you alphas who think you can get something for nothing because you were born with knots.  Or rather, are _possessing_ someone with a knot.”

Apparently, this issue struck a chord with the angel, and he lashed out to grab Sam’s shoulder roughly, growling, “I’m not _posturing_ , I asked you a question.  I _need an answer_ about the blood.”

It fucking _hurt_.  The alpha’s grip was enough to dislocate Sam’s joint but he didn’t care.  He may have welcomed the pain.    
  
“I don’t have to answer for you.  It’s none of your business, _Castiel_ ,” he coated the name with a patronizing drawl.  “Just like your visit to the past was none of mine.  You can fuck right off.”

“We saved your life,” he snarled and knocked the glass bottle from Sam’s hand, the amber liquid splashing against his leg as the glass shattered on the ground.  “You should show me some _respect_.”

A low whistle sounded behind both of them, and tore them out of the heated moment.  “Wow, Cas.  Never thought you’d be such a bully.”  The alpha retracted his grip from Sam as they spun around to see Gabriel walking towards them.  “I’m disappointed in you.”

Sam’s face drained of color the moment he caught sight of the archangel, and Castiel’s back went stick-straight as his words tumbled out, “I apologize, it’s been a difficult time and-”

“Excuses, excuses.”  He was finally close enough that the seraph shrunk under his gaze, and Sam wanted to run and hide, but he was too shocked that Gabriel was _actually here_ : he couldn‘t even _move_ , he felt fucking paralyzed.  “I’m guessing you had your suspicions, Cas.  But instead of sending a prayer out to _me_ , like a good little underling, you decided to pick on _Sammy_?  Never mind that you dote on his brother like a love-struck moron, you’ve just never had the same affinity for the Sasquatch.  Even though you call them _both_ your charges.  Kinda rude.  Playing favorites like that.”

“T-that’s not true.”  He stammered out, the scent of terror leaking from the alpha and Sam couldn’t help but become intrigued.  “I didn’t _mean-"_

He’d never witnessed Castiel afraid of anything, but Gabriel taunting him seemed to put the fear of God into him.  The sight of unwavering submission seemed to appease the archangel and made Gabriel cocky.  He crossed his arms and sank into his hip, eyes still drilling holes into Castiel.

“Okay, Cassie.  Let’s start over.  Now, what were you interrogating my poor little omega about?”  He tapped his foot as he waited for the other to meet his eyes.

Slowly, as Castiel began to speak, he eventually met the superior alpha’s eyes and reiterated, “I asked how he convinced you to give him your blood.  After all, it’s _unprecedented_ for an angel, let alone an _archangel_ , to allow a human to drink-”

He was cut off instantly when Gabriel snagged the edge of his collar and pulled it down: exposing the healed but scarred mark on his neck.  

A clear, blaringly obvious _mating bite_.

Castiel’s jaw fell open and he actually staggered backwards in his step, causing Sam to feel _sick_ all over again, yet…

Gabriel _smirked_.  

After all, he loved to get a dramatic reaction, which was what he was going for in his reveal.  

And, by God, did he get it.

He didn’t seem pissed off, oh no, he was being a showman when he told the other angel, “It’s not like he drank me like a Slurpee.  Getting a taste of my blood’s kinda part of the mating process, isn’t it?”  He winked lavishly at Sam, who had no idea what the fuck to do.

Why was Gabriel doing this?  What was his end game?  Why was he being so casual about it?

“Y-you-” Castiel’s attention jerked around to face Sam in utter horror.  “You _mated him_?!”

Gabriel clapped his hands twice and an invisible energy pulled Castiel’s body like a magnet, until they were nose to nose.  “I thought I told you to direct your questions right here, bucko.”  There was a dangerous edge to his voice as he prodded Cas in the chest.  “Yes.  Sam’s _my_ omega.  So you better step the fuck off or you’ll be answering to me from now on.  And here I optimistically thought as long as I didn’t mark him, the world would cut him some slack!  But you’re being a thorn in our side that I’m kindly going to ignore.   _If_ you drop this.”  He brutally shoved the angel to the ground, sending Castiel tumbling and rolling several feet in the dirt before Gabriel pasted on a wide smile and finished, “If you tattle on us to your boy toy?  There’s gonna be hell to pay.  Better scram.”

With the soft flutter of wings, Castiel disappeared.

Now it was just Sam and Gabriel alone in the scrap yard, and the omega was just as scared as the seraph had been.  He couldn’t look up at the archangel no matter how hard he tried, the liquid courage in his body was failing him and shame was still deeply burrowed into his bones.

All he managed was a pathetic, “Why?”

“Why, what?”  Gabriel’s voice was neutral and Sam could hear his footsteps fall closer and closer.

“Why did you…lie.  And defend me.”  The omega’s voice was unsteady, and suddenly there was a finger hooked under his chin that jerked his head up and he was faced with scrutinizing honey-colored eyes.

“I may have bent the truth a tad.”  He scoffed and chuckled, “Damn, you’re drunk.  Is that why you lost your backbone?”

“I’m sorry-” Sam blurted, unable to go another second without saying the words.

He hadn’t seen Gabriel since he’d been in his right mind again and he’d never had the chance to verbalize the very thing that had been haunting him ever since he was back to himself.  But he wasn’t about to call him down and waste Gabriel’s time with an apology.  Hell, he’d thought the alpha would be long gone and never want to see his face again.  He never thought Gabriel would be able to even look at him again.

Let alone appear down here and _defend_ him against Castiel.

“You better be.”  Gabriel’s voice was still eerily even.  Once he was confident Sam wouldn’t avert his eyes, he patted the omega’s cheek and admitted, “But it’s my fault, too.  Shoulda known you would’ve done something idiotic.  I let my guard drop.  So I can’t blame you.  We’ll just sweep this under the rug and-”

“How can you say that?!”  Sam stammered out, unable to comprehend what he was hearing.  “I fucking mated you against your will!  I tied you to me and it can’t be undone!  You should be _furious_ , you shouldn’t even be able to look at me!  Why the hell are you _protecting me_?!”

“So you _want_ me to get pissed off?  Would that make you happy?”  The alpha grabbed a fistful of Sam’s shirt.  “What do you want from me?  Because you’re right, it _can’t_ be undone so I figured it’d work out best if we get over it!  I was giving you a fucking free pass and you’re throwing it back in my face!”  Gabriel never admitted to fighting fair when he sneered, “And here I thought you’d _wanna_ see me.  Since I’m numero uno in that pretty little head of yours.  Unless you forgot about that night completely.  Pretty sure there was an ‘I love you’ involved, to boot.”

Instead of crumbling under the pressure, like he’d been doing every night since it happened, Sam felt himself get riled up.  Maybe it was the proximity, maybe it was because Gabriel had thrown the gauntlet - but something propelled him to duck down, cradling the back of Gabriel’s head and hauling them, and their lips together.

The archangel met him halfway, surging upward and kissing him hard to make up for their period apart.  Gabriel been watching over Sam from time to time, which was why he’d been _furious_ to see Castiel corner his mate like that.

Yes, he’d needed a little bit of space to come to terms with the fact that he saw this beautiful, overgrown, dumbass omega as his mate.  The stupid mark was nothing to scoff at, it was the real deal.  It linked him with Sam in ways the omega couldn’t imagine, not unless the kid had a matching one.  

It _amplified_ Gabriel’s protective alpha instincts ten fold, and after one (single) day of searching for ways to remove it…he decided he didn’t care.

Maybe he was already in too deep, maybe this was the proof he needed of the things he’d never say.  He realized that, as he crowded Sam up against one of the cars, and hiked him up on the hood.

But there was one thing he needed to fix, first and foremost.

While their tongues were locked in a dance and Sam’s hand was diving down the front of the alpha’s pants, Gabriel reached up and tapped his forehead.   It caused the omega to fall backwards for a split-second and Gabriel scooped his arm around him and caught him.  When Sam came back up he was wide-eyed and stunned.

“Ever notice how I like you sober?”  Gabriel asked as he nipped at Sam’s earlobe.

It was a bit jarring, the alcohol completely wiped from his system and…the situation was much, _much_ more daunting.  Yet, suddenly quite a few things made _a lot_ more sense.

Sam swallowed when he realized, “That’s why you never showed up when Dean went back with the girl from the bar.  The night we got separate hotel rooms.  Even though you showed up earlier to tease me.”

“Duh.”  He stole a quick kiss from Sam’s swollen lips, then inquired, “Are you still with me?”

The omega hesitated, then actually managed to surprise Gabriel by reaching out and engulfing the alpha in his arms.  He held on tight and desperately scented his neck, right where the mating mark had healed because…he _needed this_.  God, he needed this so bad.  

The alpha’s arms hovered over Sam’s body before they cautiously returned the embrace, taking stock of his omega‘s smell.  Because it had changed, and _drastically_.

Sam was shaking like a leaf, and while it killed Gabriel’s boner, he knew this was something the omega craved more than sex.  So Gabriel sighed and instead of trying to make another move before his mate was ready, he angel-mojo’d them up into the room Sam was staying at inside Bobby’s home.

This registered with Sam the moment they hit the mattress and he whispered desperately, “Don’t leave yet.”

With a long sigh, Gabriel tried to sound put-out, but turned out sounding fond when he said, “Needy brat.”

“I’m sorry, I just-”

“Hey, kiddo, you need to make me a promise right now.”  The archangel’s voice was firm as Sam rearranged himself on Gabriel’s chest so he could watch him.  “Never say sorry.  I’m over it.  I _hate_ hearing it.  If someone does something, it’s for a reason or else it wouldn’t have happened.  I fucking hate that word more than anything.  Do we have a deal?”

With a mischievously raised eyebrow, Sam made his counter-offer: “If you stay, we do.”

“There’s my Sammy.”  He huffed a laugh, and decided to make himself comfortable.  “I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

The omega nodded and then boldly leaned up and sucked where the mark was.  The touch sent a visible shudder through the archangel and he clutched Sam closer, grunting out, “Holy hell, kid-” before Sam covered his mouth with a single, hot, dirty kiss.  "I could get used to that."

Just like nothing happened, he went back to laying on Gabriel’s chest wearing a grin.  “Maybe I’m not sorry after all.”

“You’re a little shit.”  The alpha grabbed a handful of Sam’s hair and tugged it once before releasing it, then for some reason...he began to slowly card his fingers through instead.  “You’re damn lucky I didn’t smite you when it happened.”

“Heh,” Sam’s scent was filled with amusement and a tinge of contentment for the first time in weeks, because… _maybe_ he could _have this_.    
  
Maybe Gabriel was giving him a sign, it sure seemed like he was.  It was in the way that he held him, in the way his scent was...happy, content.  Maybe this was all right and they _could_ work…the simple thought made his heart rejoice, but he couldn’t show all of his cards just yet.  So Sam mused thoughtfully over the smiting comment and unapologetically quipped, “Would’ve been a hell of a way to go out though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first part of "Playing Charades!" I'd love to hear your thoughts - and be on the look out for the second installment in the near future!
> 
> Thank you for reading <3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Playing the Victim | Playing the Fool Art Masterpost](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8970241) by [reaperlove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reaperlove/pseuds/reaperlove)




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